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D.  Appleton  4*  Co.  ^ve  latdy  puhlisJi 

HI»f  ORY  OF  OREGON  AND  CALIFO 

10  THE  OTHER  TERRITORIES  ON  THE  NORTH-V  ' 

COAST  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 

^ , — ed  with  »  Geographical  View  and  Map  of  those  eonntries, 

vmber  of  Dooiunents  a«  proofs  and  illaitntioiu  of  the  history. 

BY  ROBBRT  aBBElTHOW, 

Translator  and  Librarian  to  the  Department  of  State  of  U.  S. 

One  handsome  8vo.  Tolume.    Price  |^  60. 


\ 


*' At  a  moment  when  so  manjr  people  are  thinking,  talUnf,  and  wriliBf  abaut  Orfgon 
it  will  be  a  great  advantage  to  all  such — and  we  hope  sooe  to  the  author  and  publlsfi« '.  s 
—to  bay  and  to  read  this  book.    It  embraces  the  hmoiy  of  Oregon  and  California,  at  \ 
the  whole  history,  with  proofs  and  illustrations  of  the  conflicting  claims  to  the  power  of 
these  countries. 

It  maintains  and  defends  the  superiority  of  the  American  claim,  and  eiplains  the 

ithms  between  us  and  Great  Britain  respecting  it.    No  one  is  really  qnall- 

intelligent  opinion  on  the  sul^ect  who  has  not  studied  this  volume,  or 

familiar  with  the  main  facts  which  it  reproduces,  combines  and  illustrate!. 

which  accompanies  the  work,  embraces  the  whole  division  of  the  continent 

'Gulf  of  Mexico,  Lake  Superior  and  Hudson's  Stmits,  iuc  jding  also  the 

the  Arctic  Sea,  a  part  of  Asia,  and  tiie  Handwieh  Islands,    it  m  well  executed 

iper  plato,  and  greatly  tkrilitates  the  comprebeosioo  of  the  claims  diMussed  In 

Cm:  "W^.:  J[|iaiursr. 

(8|c  WaXUn  SktMtn  IRebetmnent  3filqpsvt.) 

or  TBI 

EXPLORINO   EXPEDITION 

TO  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS, 

IN  THE  YEAR  1842,  AND  TO 

OREGON  AND  NORTH  CALIFORNIA 

IN  THE  YEAR  1843-4, 
ST  BBITTET-OAPTAIN  J.  O.FREMONT, 

or  THX  TOrOOEAPHICAL  CMOIXBERS. 

Republished  ftpom  the  official  copy  ordered  to  be  printed  by  the  U.  S.  Sena' 
One  Tolune  of  near  200  pages.    Price  26  cents,  paper  cover,  or  printed 
on  thick  paper,  bound.    Price  uB  cents. 

"  Cnpioaa  extracts  from  this  Narrative  have  been  published  in  this  paper,  and  v 
maeb  relislMd  by  all  clasies  of  readers,  on  account  of  the  interest  of  the  advent 
th«y  detailed,  their  lively  and  araphic  description  of  scenery,  and  the  curious  and  vs 
ble  hifnrmatioe  they  imparted  in  regard  to  the  vast  and  little  known  rMioa  streici 
from  Missouri  across  the  contfaient  to  th«Pacific.   The  report,  first  puUWied  by  onl< 
the  U.  B.  Senate,  hss  been  republished  ih  the  cheap  form  by  Messra.  Amrcoa  lb  '     . 
New-  Vork,  and  makes  by  tn  the  most  usefUl  and  hiterestiog  book  of  trmrcto  tha 
'^a  the  American  press  in  several  years.    Aside  from  the  kitriasie  mMt  t> 
-'ill  attract  addhional  attention  now,  from  the  Interest  exsMad  by  the  O 
d  the  general  desire  to  obtain  Ail  I  and  exact  iuttarmatkm  la.nBMd  to  t     ■  .• 
ry  fairly  priated,  and  aoM  for  39  centi."— iltr/oto  Ctmmiimi»eH 


mf 


THE 


OREGON  TERRITORY, 


ITS 


HISTORY  AND  DISCOVERY; 

INCLUDINO   AX  ACCOUNT  Of 

THE   CONVENTION    OFTHE    ESC  URIAL, 

ALSO, 

THE  TREATIES  AND  NEGOTIATIONS 

B  K  T  W  B  I  it 

THE   UNITED   STATES  AND  GREAT   BRITAIN, 

HXLD   AT  VARIOUS  TIMES   FOR  THE   SETTLSMENT  OF 
A   BOUNDART    LINE. 

J 

*  AMD 

AN   EXAMINATION   OF  THE  WHOLE   QUESTION 

IN     RKSPKCT     TO 

FACTS  AND   THE   LAW  OF  NATIONS. 


BY 


TR AVERS  TWISS.  D.C.L.,  F.R.8., 

ntOrBISOR     or     POUTICAL    BCOXOMY    IX     THB     rKIVBKHlTT    OP     OZPORO, 
AXB  A0VO1ATB  IN    I>OCTOK8'   COMMONS. 


NEW. YORK: 
D.  APPLETON  &  CO.,  300  BROADWAY. 

PHILADELPHIA: 
GEO.  S.  APPLETON,  148  CHE8NUT-8TREET. 

CIHCINNATI.— DXRBY,  BRADLKT  k,  CO.,  113  MAIN  •  STatlT. 
MDCCOXLVI. 


.j^f^r^iiiMti 


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PREFACE. 


..ys 

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■  '■  '■■«?' 

Si 


The  object  which  the  author  had  in  view,  in  insti- 
tuting the  accompanying  inquiry  into  the  historical 
facts  and  the  negotiations  connected  with  the  Oregon 
Territory,  was  to  contribute,  as  far  as  his  individual 
services  might  avail,  to  the  peaceful  solution  of  the 
question  at  issue  between  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca and  Great  Britain.  He  could  not  resist  the  convic- 
tion, on  reading  several  able  treatises  on  the  subject, 
that  the  case  of  the  United  States  had  been  overstated 
by  her  writers  and  negotiators ;  and  the  perusal  of  Mr. 
Greenhow's  Official  Memoir,  and  subsequent  History 
of  Oregon  and  California,  confirmed  him  in  this  im- 
pression, as  they  sought  to  establish  more  than  was 
consistent  with  the  acknowledged  difficulty  of  a  ques- 
tion, which  has  now  been  the  subject  of  four  fruitless 
negotiations.  He  determined,  in  consequence  of  this 
conviction,  to  investigate  carefully  the  records  of  an- 
cient discoveries  and  other  matters  of  history  connected 
with  the  North-west  coast  of  America,  concerning 
which  much  contradictory  statement  is  to  be  met 
with  in  writers  of  acknowledged  reputation.  The 
result  is,  the  present  work,  which  has  unaypii|ajt>l7 

assumed  a  much  larger  bulk  than  was  antioil 

1* 


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I 


VI 


PREFACE. 


H 


the  author  when  he  commenced  the  inquiry  :  it  is 
hoped,  however,  that  the  arrangement  of  the  chapters 
will  enable  the  reader  to  select,  without  difficulty, 
those  portions  of  the  subject  which  he  may  deem  to 
be  most  deserving  of  his  attention. 

The  expeditions  of  Drake  and  of  Gali  have  thus 
necessarily  come  under  consideration  ;  and  the  views 
of  the  author  will  be  found  to  differ,  in  respect  to  both 
these  navigators,  from  those  advanced  by  Mr.  Green- 
how,  more  especially  in  respect  to  Drake.  Had  the 
author  noticed  at  an  earlier  period  Mr.  Greenhow's 
remark  in  the  Preface  to  the  second  edition  of  his  His- 
tory, that  he  has  "  never  deviated  from  the  rule  of  not 
citing  authorities  at  second-hand,"  he  would  have 
thought  it  right  to  apologise  for  attributing  the  incor- 
rectness of  Mr.  Greenhow's  statements  as  to  the  re- 
spective accounts  of  Drake's  expedition,  to  his  having 
been  misled  by  the  authority  of  the  article  "  Drake," 
in  the  Biographic  Universelle.  He  would  even  now 
apologise,  were  not  any  other  supposition  under  the 
circumstances  less  respectful  to  Mr.  Greenhow  himself. 

In  regard  to  Juan  de  Fuca,  if  the  author  could  have 
supposed  that  in  the  course  of  the  last  negotiations  at 
Washington,  Mr.  Buchenan  would  have  pronounced 
that  De  Fuca's  Voyage  "  no  longer  admits  of  reason- 
able doubt,"  he  would  have  entered  into  a  more  care- 
ful analysis  of  Michael  Lock's  tale,  to  show  that  it  is 
utterly  irreconcileable  with  ascertained  facts.  As  it  is, 
however,  the  author  trusts  that  enough  has  been  said 
in  the  chapter  on  the  Pretended  Discoveries  of  the 
North  west  Coast,  to  convince  the  reader  that  both  the 


1'ki:fac£. 


Vli 


stories  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  Maldonado*,  to  the  latter 
of  whom,  Mr.  Calhoun,  at  an  earlier  stage  of  the  same 
.negotiations,  refers  by  name  as  the  pioneer  of  Span- 
ish enterprise,  are  to  be  ranked  with  Admiral  Fonte's 
account,  in  the  class  of  Mythical  discoveries. 

In  regard  to  Vancouver,  the  author,  it  is  hoped,  will 
be  pardoned  for  expressing  an  opinion,  that  Mr. 
Greenhow  has  permitted  his  admitted  jealousy  for  the 
fame  of  his  fellow-citizens  to  lead  him  to  do  injustice 
to  Vancouver's  character,  and  to  assail  it  with  argu- 
ments founded  in  one  or  two  instances  upon  incorrect 
views  of  Vancouver's  own  statements.  Mr.'  Gallatin 
expressed  a  very  different  opinion  of  this  officer,  in  his 
Counter-statement,  during  the  negotiation  of  1826, 
when  he  observes  that  Vancouver  "  had  too  much 
probity  to  alter  his  statement,  when,  on  the  ensuing 
day,  he  was  informed  by  Captain  Gray  of  the  existence 
of  the  river,  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  had  been  for 
several  days  without  being  able  to  enter  it." 

The  chapter  on  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial  is 
intended  to  give  an  outline  of  the  facts  and  negotia- 
tions connected  with  the  controversy  between  Spain 
and  Great  Britain  in  respect  to  Nootka  Sound,  and  the 
subsequent  settlement  of  the  points  in  dispute.  The  argu- 
ments which  the  author  conceived  them  to  furnish  against 
the  positions  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States, 
have  been  inserted,  as  the  opportunity  offered  itself,  in 
the  chapters  on  the  several  negotiations.    The  author, 

♦  Maldonado's  pretended  Voyage  bears  the  date  of  158S.  In  the  copy  of 
Mr.  Calhoun's  letter,  circulated  on  thi»  side  of  the  Atlantic,  it  is  referred  to 
the  year  1528. 


t 
I 


Vlll 


rUEFACE. 


however,  has  introduced  in  this  chapter,  what  appears 
to  him  to  be  a  couchisive  refutation  of  Mr.  Buchanan's 
statement,  "  that  no  sufficient  evidence  has  been  ad- 
duced that  either  Nootka  Sound,  or  any  other  spot  on 
the  coast,  was  ever  actually  surrendered  by  Spain  to 
Great  Britain.'* 

The  chapter  on  the  Cohimbia  River  attempts  to  ad- 
just the  respective  claims  of  Heceta,  Gray,  and 
Broughton,  to  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  that 
river. 

A  few  chapters  have  been  next  inserted  on  points 
of  international  law  connected  with  territorial  title, 
which,  it  was  thou2;htj  might  facilitate  the  examina- 
tion of  the  questions  raised  in  the  course  of  the  nego- 
tiations by  the  Commissioners  of  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States.  They  do  not  profess  to  be  complete, 
but  they  embrace,  it  is  believed,  nearly  all  that  is  of 
importance  for  the  reader  to  be  familiar  with. 

The  chapters  on  the  Limits  of  Louisiana,  and  the 
Treaty  of  Washington,  were  required  to  elucidate  the 
"  derivative  title  "  of  the  United  States. 

If  the  author  could  have  anticipated  the  publication 
of  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  Pakenham  and  the 
Plenipotentiaries  of  the  United  States,  he  would  most 
probably  have  adopted  a  different  arrangement  in  his 
review  of  the  several  negotiations,  so  as  to  avoid  an 
appearance  of  needless  repetition.  His  manuscript, 
however,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  last  chapters, 
was  completed  before  the  President's  message  reached 
this  country.  As  the  earlier  sheets,  however,  were 
passing  through  the  press,  one  or  two  remarks  have  been 


PREFACE. 


inserted  which  have  a  bearing  on  the  recent  corres- 
pondence ;  but  it  should  be  observed,  that  a  separate 
review  of  each  negotiation  was  designedly  adopted,  for 
the  purpose  of  enabling  the  reader  to  appreciate  more 
readily  the  variety  of  phases,  which  the  claims  of  the 
United  States  have  assumed  in  the  course  of  them. 

Some  observations  have  been  made  in  Chapter  XII. 
and  other  places,  upon  the  general  futility  of  the  argu- 
ment from  maps  in  the  case  of  disputed  territory. 
The  late  negotiations  at  Washington  have  furnished 
an  apposite  illustration  of  the  truth  of  the  author's  re- 
marks. Mr.  Buchanan,  towards  the  conclusion  of  his 
last  letter  to  Mr.  Pakenham,  addressed  an  argument  to 
the  British  Minister,  of  the  kind  known  to  logicians  as 
the  argumentum  ad  verecundiam  :  —  "  Even  British 
geographers  have  not  doubted  our  title  to  the  territory 
in  dispute.  There  is  a  large  and  splendid  globe  now  in 
the  Department  of  the  State,  recently  received  from 
London,  and  published  by  Maltby  &  Co.,  manufactur- 
ers and  publishers  to  *  The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Useful  knowledge,*  which  assigns  this  territory  to  the 
United  States."  The  history,  however,  of  this  globe 
is  rather  curious.  It  was  ordered  of  Mr.  Malby  (not 
Maltby)  for  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington, 
before  Mr.  Everett  quitted  his  post  of  Minister  of  the 
United  States  in  this  country.  It  no  doubt  deserves 
the  commendation  bestowed  upon  it  by  Mr.  Buchanan, 
for  Mr.  Malby  manufactures  excellent  globes  ;  but  the 
globe  sent  to  Washington  was  not  made  from  the  plates 
used  on  the  globes  published  under  the  sanction  of 
"  The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge," 


PREFACE. 


though  this  is  not  said  by  way  of  disparagement  to  it. 
The  Society,  in  its  maps,  has  carried  the  boundary  line 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along  the  49th  parallel 
to  the  Columbia  River,  and  thence  along  that  river  to 
the  sea ;  but  in  its  globes  the  line  is  not  marked  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Mr.  Malby,  knowing  that  the 
globe  ordered  of  him  was  intended  for  the  Department 
of  State  at  Washington,  was  led  to  suppose  that  it 
would  be  more  satisfactorily  completed,  as  it  was  an 
American  order,  if  he  coloured  in,  for  it  is  not  en- 
graved, the  boundary  line  proposed  by  the  Commission- 
ers of  the  United  States.  The  author  would  apologise 
for  discussing  so  trifling  a  circumstance,  had  not  the 
authorities  of  the  United  States  considered  the  fact  of 
sufficient  importance  to  ground  a  serious  argument 
upon  it. 

In  conclusion,  the  Author  must  beg  pardon  of  the 
distinguished  diplomatists  in  the  late  negotiations  at 
Washington,  whose  arguments  he  has  subjected  to 
criticism,  if  he  has  omitted  to  notice  several  portions  of 
their  statements,  to  which  they  may  justly  attribute 
great  weight.  It  is  not  from  any  want  of  respect  that 
he  has  neglected  them,  but  the  limits  of  his  work  pre- 
cluded a  fuller  consideration  of  the  subject. 


London,  Jan.  22,  1846. 


.W 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTBR  PAOB 

I.  The  Oregon  Territory 13 

II.  The  Discovery  of  the  North-west  Coast  of  America  -  26 

III.  The  Discovery  of  the  North-west  Coast  of  America  -  50 

IV.  The  pretended  Discoveries  of  the  North-west  Coast  64 
V.  The  Convention  of  the  Escurial      -        -        -        -  76 

VI.  The  Orejjon  or  Columbia  River       -        -        -        -  94 

VII.  The  Acquisition  of  Territory  by  Occupation    -        -  1 1 1 

VIII.  Title  by  Discovery         -        -        -        -        -        -  115 

IX.  Title  by  Settlement 123 

X.  Derivative  Title 129 

XL  Negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  in  1818 141 

XII.  The  Limits  of  Louisiana        -        -        -        -        -  153 

XIII.  The  Treaty  of  Washington 162 

XIV.  Negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  in  1823-34 178 

XV.  Examination  of  the  Claims  of  the  United  States    -  189 
XVI.  Negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  in  1826-27 207 

XVII.  Negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

Britain  in  1844-45 224 

XVIII.  Review  of  the  General  Question     -        -        -        -  249 


t 


f    I 

L 


\ 


THE  OREGON   QUESTION. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  OREGON  TERRITORY. 


North-west  America. — Plateau  of  Anahuac. — Rocky  Mountains. — New- 
Albion. — New  Caledonia. — Orcijon,  or  Oregan,  the  River  of  the  West. 
— The  Columbia  River. — Extent  of  the  Oregon  Territory. — The  Coun- 
try of  the  Columbia. — Opening  of  the  Fur  Trade  in  1786. — Vancouver. 
— Straits  of  Anian. — Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca. — Barclay. — Meares. — 
The  American  sloop  Washington. — Galiano  and  Vald6s. — Journey  of 
Mackenzie  in  1793. — The  Taeoutchc-Tesse,  now  Frazer's  River.^ 
North-west  Company  in  1805. — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1670. 
— The  First  Settlement  of  the  North-west  Company  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains  in  1806,  at  Frazer's  Lake. — Journey  of  Mr.  Thomson,  tho 
Astronomer  of  the  North-west  Company,  down  the  North  Branch  of  tho 
Columbia  River,  in  1811. — Expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1805. — 
Tho  Missouri  Fur  Company,  in  1808. — Their  First  Settlement  on  the 
West  of  tho  Rocky  Mountains. — The  Pacific  Fur  Company,  in  1810.— 
John  Jacob  Astor,  tho  Representative  of  it. — Astoria,  established  in 
1811. — Dissolution  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  in  July,  1813. — Trans- 
fct  of  Astoria  to  the  North-west  Company,  by  Purchase,  in  October, 
1813. — Subsequent  Arrival  of  the  British  Sloop-of-War,  tho  Racoon.— 
Name  of  Astoria  changed  to  Fort  George. 

NoRTH-wESTER>'  AMERICA  is  divldcd  ffom  the  other  portions 
of  the  continent  by  a  chain  of  lofty  mountains,  which  extend 
throughout  its  entire  length  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  in 
continuation  of  the  Mexican  Andes,  to  the  shores  of  the  Arc 
tic  Ocean.  The  southern  part  of  this  chain,  immediately  bo- 
low  the  parallel  of  42°  north  latitude,  is  known  to  the  Span- 
iards  by  the  name  of  the  Sierra  Verde,  and  the  central  ridge, 
in  continuation  of  this,  as  the  Sierra  de  las  Grullas ;  and  by 
these  names  they  are  distinguished  by  Humboldt  in  his  ac- 
count of  New  Spain,  (Essai  Politique  sur  la  Nouvelle  Espagne, 

2 


14 


NOKTH-WEST    AMERICA. 


1.  i.,  c.  3,)  as  well  as  in  a  copy  of  Mitchell's  Map  of  xVorth 
America,  publiahed  in  1834.  Mr.  Greenhow,  in  his  History 
of  Oregon  and  California,  states  that  the  Anahuac  Mountains 
is  "the  appellation  most  commonly  applied  to  this  part  of  the 
dividing  chain  extending  south  of  the  40th  degree  of  latitude 
to  Mexico,"  but  when  and  on  what  grounds  that  name  has 
come  to  be  so  applied,  he  does  not  explain.  Anahuac  was 
the  denomination  before  the  Spanish  conquest  of  that  portion 
of  America  which  lies  between  the  14th  and  21st  degrees  of 
north  latitude,  whereas  the  Cordillera  of  the  Mexican  Andes 
takes  the  name  of  the  Sierra  Mad  re  a  little  north  of  the  par- 
allel of  19",  and  the  Sierra  Madre  in  its  turn  is  connected 
with  the  Sierra  de  las  Grullas  by  an  intermediate  range,  com- 
mencing near  the  parallel  of  30^,  termed  La  Sierra  de  los 
Mimbres.  The  application,  indeed,  of  the  name  Anahuac  to 
the  entire  portion  of  the  chain  which  lies  south  of  40^,  may 
have  originated  with  thoga  writers  who  have  confounded 
Anahuac  with  New  Spain  ;  but  as  the  use  of  the  word  in  this 
sense  is  incorrect,  it  hardly  seems  desirable  to  adopt  an  ap- 
pellation which  is  calculated  to  produce  contusion,  whilst  it 
perpetuates  an  error,  especially  as  there  appear  to  be  no  rea- 
sonable grounds  for  discarding  the  established  Spanish  names. 
The  plateau  of  Anahuac,  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word, 
comprises  the  entire  territory  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to 
the  21st  parallel  of  north  latitude,  so  that  the  name  of  Ana- 
huac Mountains  would,  with  more  propriety,  be  confined  to 
the  portion  of  the  Cordillera  south  of  21°.  If  this  view  bo 
correct,  the  name  of  the  Sierra  Verde  may  be  continued  for 
that  portion  of  the  central  range  which  separates  the  head 
waters  of  the  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte,  which  flows  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  forms  the  south-western  boundary  of  Texas, 
from  those  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  (del  Occidente,)  which  emp- 
ties  itself  into  the  Gulf  of  California. 

The  Rocky  Mountains,  then,  or,  as  they  are  frequently 
called,  the  Stony  Mountains,  will  be  the  distinctive  appella- 
tion of  the  portion  of  the  great  central  chain  which  lies  north 
of  the  parallel  of  42°  ;  and  if  a  general  term  should  be  re- 
quired for  the  entire  chain  to  the  south  of  this  parallel,  it  may 
be  convenient  to  speak  of  it  as  the  Mexican  Cordillera,  since 
it  is  co-extensive  with  the  present  territory  of  the  United 
States  of  Mexico,  or  else  as  the  Mexican  Andes,  since  the 
range  is,  both  in  a  geographical  and  a  geological  point  of 
vicwj  a  continuation  of  th(?  South  American  Andes, 


:   I 


ROCKY    MOUNTAIXS. 


15 


Between  this  great  chain  of  moui  tains  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean  a  most  ample  territory  extends,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  divided  into  three  great  districts.  The  most  southerly  ot' 
these,  of  which  the  northern  boundary  line  was  drawn  along 
the  parallel  of  4"J^,  by  the  Treaty  of  Washington  in  1819,  be- 
long to  the  United  States  of  Mexico.  The  most  northerly, 
commencing  at  Bohring's  Straits,  and  of  which  the  extreme 
southern  litnit  was  fixed  at  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince 
of  Wales's  Island  in  the  j)arallel  of  54^  40'  north,  by  treaties 
concluded  between  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America 
in  1824,  and  between  Russia  and  (treat  Britan  in  1825,  forms 
a  part  of  the  dominions  of  Russia;  whilst  the  intermediate 
country  is  not  as  yet  under  ihe  acknowledged  sovereignty  of 
any  power. 

To  this  intermediate  territory  diflerent  names  have  been 
assigned.  To  the  portion  of  the  coast  between  tlie  parallels 
of  43°  and  4^°,  the  British  have  applied  the  name  of  New 
Albion,  since  the  expedition  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  in  1578  80, 
and  the  British  Government,  in  the  instructions  furnished  by 
the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty,  in  177C,  to  Captain  Cook,  directed 
Iiim  "to  proceed  to  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  endeavouring  to 
fall  in  with  it  in  the  latitude  of  45°.  (Introduction  to  Capiain 
Cook's  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  4to,  1784,  vol.  i.,  j). 
xxxii.)  At  a  later  period,  Vancouver  gave  the  name  of  New 
Ceorgia  to  the  coast  between  45°  and  50°,  and  that  of  New 
Hanover  to  the  coast  between  50°  and  54° ;  whilst  to  the  entire 
country  north  of  New  Albion,  between  48°  and  56°  30',  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  sea,  British  traders  have  given 
the  name  of  New  Caledonia,  ever  since  the  North-west  Com- 
pany formed  an  establishment  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  in  1806.  (Journal  of  D.  W.  Harmon, 
quoted  by  Mr.  Grcenhow,  p.  291.)  The  Spanish  government, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  the  course  of  the  negotiations  with  the 
British  government  which  ensued  upon  the  seizure  of  the 
British  vessels  in  Nootka  Sound,  and  terminated  in  the  Con- 
vention of  the  Escurial.  in  1790,  designated  the  entire  terri- 
tory as  "  the  Coast  of  California,  in  the  South  Sea."  (Decla- 
ration  of  His  Catholic  Majesty,  June  4th,  transmitted  to  all 
the  European  Courts,  in  the  Annual  Register,  1790.)  Of 
late  it  has  been  customary  to  speak  of  it  as  the  Oregon  terri- 
tory, or  the  Columbia  River  territory,  although  some  writers 
confine  that  term  to  the  region  watered  by  the  Oregon,  or 
Columbia  River,  and  its  tributaries. 


<4 


10 


OREGON,    OR    OREOAN. 


i    f\  ' 


'"  I 


The  authority  for  the  use  of  the  word  Oregon,  or,  more  pro- 
perly speaking,  Oregan,  has  not  been  clearly  ascertained,  but 
the  majority  of  writers  agree  in  referring  the  introduction  of 
the  name  to  Carver's  Travels.  Jonathan  Carver,  a  native  of 
Connecticut  and  a  British  subject,  set  out  from  Boston  in 
1766,  soon  after  the  transfer  of  Canada  to  Great  Britain,  on 
an  expedition  to  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  with 
the  ultimate  purpose  of  ascertaining  "the  breadth  of  that  vast 
continent,  which  extends  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  in  its  broadest  part,  between  43°  and  46°  of  north 
latitude.  Had  I  been  able."  he  says,  "  to  accomplish  this 
task,  I  intended  to  have  proposed  to  government  to  establish 
a  post  in  some  of  those  parts,  about  the  Straits  of  Anian,  which 
having  been  discovered  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  of  course  be- 
long to  the  English."  The  account  of  his  travels,  from  the 
introduction  to  which  the  above  extract  in  his  own  words  is 
quoted,  was  published  in  London  in  1778.  Carver  did  not 
succe  ?d  in  penetrating  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  he  first  made 
known,  or  at  least  established  a  belief  in,  the  existence  of  a 
great  river,  termed  apparently,  by  the  nations  in  the  interior, 
Oregon,  or  Oregan,  the  source  of  which  he  placed  not  far  from 
the  head  waters  of  the  River  Missouri,  "on  the  other  side  of 
the  summit  of  the  lands  that  divide  the  waters  which  run  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  those  which  fall  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean."  He  was  led  to  infer,  from  the  account  of  the  na- 
tives, that  this  "  Great  River  of  the  West"  emptied  itself  near 
the  Straits  of  Anian,  (Carver's  Travels,  3d  edit.,  London,  1781, 
p.  542,)  although  it  may  be  observed  that  the  situation  of  the 
so-called  Straits  of  Anian  themselves  was  not  at  this  time  ac- 
curately fixed.  Carver,  however,  was  misled  in  this  latter 
respect,  but  the  description  of  the  locality  where  he  placed  the 
source  of  the  Oregon,  seems  to  identify  it  either  with  the  Flat- 
bow  or  M'Gillivray's  River,  or  else,  and  perhaps  more  pro- 
bably, with  the  Flathead  or  Clark's  River,  each  of  which 
streams,  after  pursuing  a  north-western  course  from  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  unites  with  a  great  river  coming 
from  the  north,  which  ultimately  empties  itself  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean  in  latitude  46°  18'.  The  name  of  Oregon  has  conse- 
quently been  perpetuated  in  this  main  river,  as  being  really 
"  the  Great  River  of  the  West,"  and  by  this  name  it  is  best 
known  in  Europe  ;  but  in  the  United  States  of  America,  it  is 
now  more  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  Columbia  River,  from 
the  name  of  the  American  vessel,  "  The  Columbia,"  which 


'  i 


^• 


EXTENT    OF    OREGON. 


17 


)re  pro- 
led,  but 
ction  of 
ative  of 
)ston  in 
tain,  on 
pi,  with 
hat  vast 
Pacific 
Df  north 
lish  this 
istablish 
n,  which 
urse  bc- 
from  the 
words  is 
did  not 
rst  made 
jnce  of  a 
interior, 
far  from 
r  side  of 
run  into 
>  Pacific 
the  na- 
lelf  near 
in,1781, 
In  of  the 
time  ac- 
is  latter 
aced  the 
lie  Flat- 
ore  pro- 
if  which 
|the  base 
coming 
Pacific 
lis  consc- 
,ig  really 
It  is  best 
[lea,  it  is 
rer,  from 
'"  which 


first  succet  ded  in  passing  the  bar  at  its  mouth  in  1792.  The 
native  name,  however,  will  not  totally  perish  in  the  United 
States,  for  it  has  been  embalmed  in  the  beautiful  verse  of 
Bryant,  whom  the  competent  judgment  of  Mr.  Washington 
Irving  has  pronounced  to  bo  amongst  the  most  distinguished 
of  American  poets  : — 

"  Take  the  winga 
Of  mominpr,  ind  the  Barcan  desert  jiicrcc, 
Or  lose  thyself  in  the  continuous  woods 
Where  rolls  the  Oregon,  and  hears  no  sound 
Save  his  own  dashings." 

If  we  adopt  the  more  extensive  use  of  the  term  Oregon  ter- 
ritory, as  applied  to  the  entire  country  intermediate  between 
the  dominions  of  Russia  and  IMexico  respectively,  its  bounda- 
ries will  be  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  east,  the  Pacific 
Ocean  on  the  west,  the  parallel  of  54"  40'  N.  L.  on  the  north, 
and  that  of  42°  N.  L.  on  the  south.  Its  length  will  thus  com- 
prise 1-'  degrees  40  minutes  of  latitude,  or  about  760  geo- 
graphical miles.  Its  breadth  is  not  so  easily  determined,  as 
the  Rocky  Mountains  do  not  run  parallel  with  the  coast,  but 
trend  from  souih-east  to  north-west.  The  greatest  breadth, 
however,  appears  to  comprise  about  14  degrees  of  longitude, 
and  the  least  about  8  degrees  ;  so  that  we  may  take  11  de- 
grees, or  6G0  geographical  miles,  as  the  average  breadth. 
The  entire  superficies  would  thus  amount  to  501,600  geo- 
graphical square  miles,  equal  to  663,.366  English  miles.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  adopt  the  narrower  use  of  the  term, 
and  accept  the  north-western  limit  which  Mr.  Greenhow,  in 
his  second  edition  of  his  History  of  Oregon  and  California, 
has  marked  out  for  "  the  country  of  the  Columbia,"  namely, 
the  range  of  mountains  which  stretches  north-eastward  from 
the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  about  400  miles, 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  separating  the  waters  of  the  Colum- 
bia from  those  of  Frazer's  river,  it  will  still  include,  upon  his 
authority,  not  less  than  400,000  square  miles  in  superficial 
extent,  which  is  more  than  double  that  of  France,  and  nearly 
half  of  all  the  states  of  the  Federal  Union.  "Its  southern- 
most points"  in  this  limited  extent  "  are  in  the  same  latitudes 
with  Boston  and  with  Florence  ;  whilst  its  northernmost  cor- 
respond with  the  northern  extremities  of  Newfoundland,  and 
with  the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic  Sea." 

Such  are  the  geographical  limits  of  the  Oregon  territory,  in 
its  widest  and  in  its  narrowest  extent.     The  Indian  hunter 


i;i 

1 

4' 


18 


run    TUAUE. 


roamed  throughout  it,  undisturbed  by  civilised  man,  till  near 
the  conclusion  of  the  last  century,  when  Captain  James  King, 
on  his  return  from  the  expedition  which  proved  so  fatal  to 
Captain  Cook,  made  known  the  high  prices  which  the  furs  of 
the  sea  otter  commanded  in  the  markets  of  China,  and  there- 
by attracted  the  attention  of  Europeans  to  it.  The  enter- 
prise of  British  merchants  was,  in  consequence  of  Captain 
King's  suggestion,  directed  to  the  opening  of  a  fur  trade  be- 
tween the  native  hunters  along  the  north-west  coast  of  Ame- 
rica, and  the  Chinese,  as  early  as  178G.  The  attempt  of  the 
Spaniards  to  suppress  this  trade  by  the  seizure  of  the  vessels 
engaged  in  it,  in  1789,  led  to  the  dispute  between  the  crowns 
of  Hpain  and  Great  Britain,  in  respect  of  the  claim  to  exclu- 
sive sovereignty  asserted  by  the  former  power  over  the  port 
of  Nootka  and  the  adjacent  latitudes,  which  was  brought  to  a 
close  by  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial  in  1790. 

The  European  merchants,  however,  who  engaged  in  this 
lucrative  branch  of  commerce,  confined  their  visits  to  stations 
on  the  coasts,  where  the  natives  brought  from  the  interior  the 
produce  of  their  hunting  expeditions  ;  and  even  in  respect  of 
the  coast  itself,  very  little  accurate  information  was  possessed 
by  Europeans,  before  Vancouver's  survey.  Vancouver,  as  is 
well  known,  was  despatched  in  1791  by  the  British  govern- 
ment to  superintend,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial,  and  he  was  at  the 
same  time  instructed  to  survey  the  coast  from  35°  to  60°,  with 
a  view  to  ascertain  in  what  parts  civilised  nations  had  made 
settlements,  and  likewise  to  determine  whether  or  not  any 
effective  water  communication,  available  for  commercial  pur- 
poses, existed  in  those  parts  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans. 

The  popular  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  channel,  termed 
the  Straits  of  Anian,  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  with 
those  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  in  about  the  58th  or  60th  parallel 
of  latitude,  through  which  Caspar  de  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese 
navigator,  was  reported  to  have  sailed  in  1500,  had  caused 
many  voyages  to  be  made  along  the  coast  on  either  side  of 
North  America  during  the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  and  the 
exaggerated  accounts  of  the  favourable  results  of  these 
voyages  had  promoted  the  progress  of  geographical  discovery 
by  stimulating  fresh  expeditions.  In  the  I7th  century,  a  nar- 
rative was  published  by  Purchas,  in  his  "  Pilgrims,"  profess- 
ing that  a  Greek  pilot,  commonly  called  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  the 


STKAITS    OF   JUAN    DE    FUCA. 


19 


service  of  tlie  Spaniards,  had  informed  Michael  Lock  the 
t'Jdor,  whilst  he  was  sojourning  at  Venice  in  1596,  that  ho 
had  discovered,  in  1592,  the  outlet  of  the  Straits  of  Anian,  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  hetween  47^  and  48°,  and  had  sailed 
through  it  into  the  North  Sea.  The  attention  of  subsequent 
navigators  was  for  a  long  time  directed  in  vain  to  the  redis- 
covery of  this  supposed  passage.  The  Spanish  expedition  un- 
dcr  Heceta,  in  1775,  and  the  British  under  Cook,  in  1778,  had 
both  equally  failed  in  discovering  any  corresponding  inlet  in 
the  north-west  coast,  doubtless,  amongst  other  reasons,  be- 
cause it  had  been  placed  by  the  author  of  the  tale  between 
the  parallels  of  47°  and  48°,  where  no  strait  existed.  In 
1787,  however,  the  mouth  of  a  strait  was  descried  a  little  fur- 
ther northward,  between  48°  and  49°,  by  Captain  Barclay,  of 
the  Imperial  Eagle,  and  the  entrance  was  explored  in  the 
following  year  by  Captain  Meares,  in  the  Felice,  who  per- 
petuated the  memory  of  Michael  Lock's  Greek  pilot,  by  giv- 
ing it  the  name  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  Meares,  in 
his  observations  on  a  north-west  passage,  p.  Ivi.,  prefixed  to 
his  Voyage,  published  in  1790,  states  that  the  American  mer- 
chant sloop  the  Washington,  upon  the  knowledge  which  he 
communicated,  penetrated  the  straits  of  Fuca  in  the  autumn 
of  1789,  "as  far  as  the  longitude  of  237°  east  of  Greenwich," 
(123°  west,)  and  came  out  into  the  Pacific  through  the  passage 
north  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  Vancouver's  attention 
was  directed,  in  consequence  of  Captain  Meares'  report,  to 
the  especial  examination  of  this  strait,  and  it  was  surveyed 
by  him,  with  the  rest  of  the  coast,  in  a  most  complete  and 
effectual  manner.  A  Spanish  expedition,  under  Galiano  and 
Valdes,  was  engaged  about  the  same  time  upon  the  same  ob- 
ject, so  that  from  this  period,  i.  e.,  the  concluding  decade  of  the 
last  century,  the  coast  of  Oregon  may  be  considered  to  have 
been  sufficiently  well  known. 

The  interior,  however,  of  the  country,  had  remained  hither- 
to unexplored,  and  no  white  man  seems  ever  to  have  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains  prior  to  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  1793. 
Having  ascended  the  Unjigah,  or  Peace  River,  from  the  Atha- 
basca Lake,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to 
one  of  its  sources  in  54°  24',  Mackenzie  embarked  upon  a 
river  flowing  from  the  western  base  of  the  mountains,  called, 
by  the  natives,  Tacoutchc-Tesse.  This  was  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  the  northernmost  branch  of  the  Columbia  river, 
till  it  was  traced,  in  1812,  to  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  where  it 


n 


;■  i 


I*!!' 


20 


NOKTH-WEST    COJIl'ANY. 


■  ! 


empties  itself  in  49^  latitude,  and  was  thenceforth  named  Fra- 
zer's  river.  Mackenzie,  having  descended  this  river  for  about 
250  miles,  struck  across  the  country  westward,  and  reached 
the  sea  in  52°  20',  at  an  inlet  which  had  been  surveyed  a 
short  time  before  by  Vancouver,  and  had  been  named  by  him 
Cascade  Canal.  This  mis  Ihr  jirst  exjjcdifUm  of  civilised  men 
1hrou<rh  /he  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  did  not 
lead  to  any  immediate  result  in  the  way  of  settlement,  though 
it  paved  the  way  ]>y  contributing,  in  conjunction  with  Van- 
couver's  survey,  to  confirm  the  conclusion  at  which  Captain 
Cook  had  arrived,  that  the  American  continent  extended,  in 
an  uninterrupted  line,  north-westward  to  Behring's  Straits. 

The  result  of  Mackenzie's  discoveries  was  to  open  a  wide 
field  to  the  westward  for  the  enterprise  of  British  merchants 
engaged  in  the  fur  trade  ;  and  thus  wo  find  a  settlement  in 
this  extensive  district  made,  not  long  after  the  publication  of 
his  voyage,  by  the  agents  of  the  North-west  Company.  This 
great  association  had  been  growing  up  since  1784,  upon  the 
wreck  of  the  French  Canadian  fur  trade,  and  gradually  ab- 
sorbed into  itself  all  the  minor  companies.  It  did  not,  how- 
ever,  obtain  its  complete  organisation  till  1805,  when  it  soon 
became  a  most  formidable  rival  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, which  had  been  chartered  as  early  as  1670,  and  had  all 
but  succeeded  in  monopolising  the  entire  fur  trade  of  North 
America,  after  the  transfer  of  Canada  to  Great  Britain.  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  with  the  characteristic  security  of  a 
chartered  company,  had  confined  their  posts  to  the  shores  of 
the  ample  territory  which  had  been  granted  to  them  by  the 
charter  of  Charles  II.,  and  left  the  task  of  procuring  furs  to 
the  enterprise  of  the  native  hunters.  The  practice  of  the 
hunters  was  to  suspend  their  chase  during  the  summer  months, 
when  the  fur  is  of  inferior  quality,  and  the  animals  rear  their 
young,  and  to  descend  by  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  interior 
to  the  established  marts  of  the  company,  with  the  produce  of 
the  past  winter's  campaign.  The  North-west  Company 
adopted  a  totally  different  system.  They  dispatched  their 
servants  into  the  very  recesses  of  the  wilderness,  to  bargain 
with  the  native  hunters  at  their  homes.  They  established 
wintering  partners  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  to  superin- 
tend the  intercourse  with  the  various  tribes  of  Indians,  and 
employed  at  one  time  not  fewer  than  2,000  voyageurs  or  boat- 
men. The  natives  being  thus  no  longer  called  away  from 
their  pursuit  of  the  beaver  and  other  animals,  by  the  neces' 


MR.    THOMSON  8   MISSION. 


21 


cd  Fra- 
jr  about 
reached 
v'cyed  a 
by  him 
scd  men 
t  did  not 
,  though 
th  Van- 
Captain 
snded,  in 
traits. 
1  a  wide 
erchants 
ement  in 
cation  of 
y.    This 
upon  tho 
ually  ab- 
lot,  how- 
tn  it  soon 
lay  Com- 
id  had  all 
of  North 
in.    Th9 
irity  of  a 
shores  of 
by  the 
ig  furs  to 
le  of  tho 

months, 
[ear  their 

interior 

[•oduce  of 

'ompany 

[ed  their 

bargain 
Itablished 

superin- 
lans,  and 

or  boat- 

/ay  from 
le  neces- 


I 


I 


sily  of  rosorting  as  heretofore  to  the  fiictorirs  of  the  Hudson's 
\ii\y  Company,  continued  on  their  hunting  grounds  (huiug  tho 
wjjole  year,  aM«l  were  teuii)te(l  to  kill  the  cub  Jind  lull-grown 
animal  alike,  and  thus  to  anticipate  the  supply  of  futiue  years. 
As  the  nearer  hunting  grounds  became  exhausted,  the  North- 
west Company  advanced  their  stations  westwardly  into  re- 
gions previously  unexplored,  and,  in  180(5,  they  j)ushed  for- 
ward a  post  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  through  the  passage 
where  the  Peace  Hiver  descends  through  a  deep  chasm  in  tho 
chain,  and  f«inned  a  trading  establishment  on  a  lake  now 
called  Frazer's  Luke,  situated  in  ot^  N.  L.  *'  7V</.v,"  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  (ireeidiow,  "  vas  l/icjirsl  srilhmnif  or  jK)st  of  mil/ 
hind  made  hif  Jirifish  ,siihjrcfs  iir.st  of  llui  Rorkij  Mount  (tins.'* 
it  may  be  observed,  likewise,  that  it  was  the  lirst  settlement 
made  on  the  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  hij  cirUificd  mvn. 
It  is  from  this  period,  according  to  Mr.  Harmon,  who  was  a 
I)artner  in  the  company,  and  the  superintendent  of  its  trade 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Rocky  iMountains,  that  the  namo 
of  New  Caledonia  had  been  used  to  designate  the  northern 
portion  of  the  Oregon  territory. 

Other  posts  were  soon  afterwards  formed  amongst  the  Flat- 
head  and  Koutanie  tribes  on  the  head  waters  or  main  branch 
of  the  Columbia  ;  and  Mr.  David  Thomson,  the  astronomer 
of  the  North-west  Company,  descended  with  a  party  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  in  1811.  Mr.  Thomson's  mission, 
according  to  Mr.  (Jreenhow,  was  expressly  intended  to  an- 
ticipate  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  in  the  occupation  of  a  post 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  Such,  indeed,  may  have  been 
the  ultimate  intention,  but  the  survey  of  the  banks  of  the 
river,  and  the  establishment  of  posts  along  it,  was  no  less  the 
object  of  it.  Mr.  Thomson  was  highly  competent  to  con- 
duct such  an  expedition,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
he  had  been  employed  in  1798  to  determine  the  latitude  of 
the  northernmost  source  of  the  Mississippi,  and  had  on  that 
occasion  shown  the  impossibility  of  drawing  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  Stales  of  America  and  Canada,  due 
west  from  the  liake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Mississippi,  as  had 
been  stipulated  in  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  of  1788. 
Mr.  Thomson  and  his  folloiccrs  were,  according  to  Mr.  Green- 
how,  the  first  while  persons  who  navigated  the  northern  braneh 
of  the  Cohnnhia,  or  traversed  any  part  of  the  country  drained 
iryit. 

The  Unite'^  States  of  America  had,  in  the  mean  time,  not 

2* 


u 


't:i^ 


I«  I 


4- 


22 


tMTEl)    STATK.S     IJXrilUITIO.N. 


I 


•J' 


1-H 


rcmainod  inattentive  to  their  own  future  commercial  interests 
in  thi.s  (|uarter,  as  they  had  de.s|)atche(l  from  the  southern  side 
an  ex[»loriiig  party  across  the  Rocky  Arountains,  almost  immc. 
diately  after  their  purchase  of  Louisiana,  in  1808.  On  this 
occasion,  Mr.  Jellerson,  then  President  of  the  United  States, 
commissioned  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  "  to  explore  the 
lliver  Missouri  an<l  its  princi|>al  branches  to  their  sources, 
and  then  to  seek  and  trace  to  its  termination  in  the  Pacific 
some  stnuim,  whether  the  Columbia,  the  Oregon,  the  Colo- 
rado, or  any  other,  which  might  offer  the  most  direct  and 
practicable  water  commimication  across  the  continent  for  the 
purposes  of  commerce."  The  party  succeeded  in  passing  the 
Rocky  Mountains  towards  the  end  of  September,  1805,  and 
after  Ibllowing,  by  the  advice  of  their  native  guides,  the  Koos- 
kooskee  River,  which  they  reached  in  the  latitude  m^  34',  to 
its  junction  with  the  principal  southern  tributary  of  the  (Jreat 
River  of  the  West,  they  gave  the  name  of  Lewis  to  this  tribu- 
tary. Having  in  seven  days  afterwards  reached  the  main 
stream,  they  traced  it  down  to  the  Pacitic  Ocean,  where  it 
was  found  to  empty  itself,  in  latitude  40^  18'.  They  thus 
identified  the  Oregon,  or  Great  River  of  the  West  of  Carver, 
with  the  river  to  whose  outlet  Captain  Gray  had  given  the 
name  of  his  vessel,  the  Columbia,  in  1792  ;  and  having  passed 
the  winter  amongst  the  Clatsop  Indians,  in  an  encampment 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  not  very  far  from  its  mouth, 
which  they  called  Fort  Clatsop,  they  commenced,  with  the 
approach  of  spring,  the  ascent  of  the  Columbia  on  their  re- 
turn homeward.  After  reaching  the  Kooskooskee,  they  pur- 
sued a  course  eastward  till  they  arrived  at  a  stream,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Clarke,  as  considering  it  to  be  the  up- 
per  part  of  the  main  river,  which  they  had  previously  called 
Clarke  at  its  confluence  with  the  Lewis.  Here  they  separated, 
at  about  the  47th  parallel  of  latitude.  Captain  Lewis  then 
struck  across  the  country,  northwards,  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  crossed  them,  so  as  to  reach  the  head  waters  of 
the  Maria  River,  which  empties  itself  into  the  Missouri  just 
IjcIow  the  Falls.  Captain  Clarke,  on  the  other  hand,  followed 
the  Clarke  River  towards  its  sources,  in  a  southward  direc- 
tion, and  then  crossed  through  a  gap  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
so  as  to  descend  the  Yellowstone  River  to  the  Missouri.  Both 
parties  united  once  more  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  and 
arrived  in  safety  at  St.  Louis  in  September,  180(\ 

The  reports  of  this  expedition  seem  to  have  first  directed 


if 


K 


MlSSOVlti    FUR    COM  TAN  V. 


23 


'^l 


tho  attention  of  traders  in  the  Lnittd  States  to  the  hunting 
fii  junds  of  Oregon.  The  Mis:,onri  Fur  Company  was  formed 
in  1SU8,  and  Mr.  Ilenr},  "ue  of  its  igents,  established  atrad- 
in«^  post  on  a  branch  of  tin  Lewis  River,  the  great  southern 
arm  of  the  Cohimiiia.  This  scrms  lu  hare  hern  the  fnrliest  ex- 
lithlishme.nt  of  any  kind  made  by  cilizrns  of  the  United  Stafr/t 
west  of  the  Uocky  Mountains.  The  hostility,  however,  of  the 
natives,  combined  with  the  difTicully  of  procuring  supplies,  ob- 
liged  -Mr.  Henry  to  abandon  it  in  1810.  The  Pacific  Fur 
Company  was  formed  about  this  time  at  New. York,  with  the 
oliject  of  monopolising,  if  possible,  the  commerce  in  furs  be- 
tween China  and  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  The  head 
of  this  association  was  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  native  of  Heidel- 
berg, who  had  emigrated  to  the  United  States,  and  had  there 
amassed  very  considerable  wealth  by  extensive  speculations 
in  the  fur  trade.  He  had  already  obtained  a  charter' from  the 
Legislature  of  New- York  in  1809,  incorporating  a  company, 
under  the  name  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  to  compete 
with  the  Mackinaw  Company  of  Canada,  within  the  Atlantic 
States,  of  which  he  Mas  himself  the  real  representative,  ac- 
cording to  his  biographer,  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  his  board 
of  directors  being  merely  a  nominal  body.  In  a  similar  man- 
ner, Mr.  Astor  himself  writes  to  Mr.  Adams  in  1823,  (Letter 
from  J.  J.  Astor,  of  New-York,  to  the  Hon.  J.  Q.  Adams, 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  amongst  the  proofs  and 
illustrations  in  the  appendix  to  Mr.  Greenhow's  work,)  "You 
will  observe  that  the  name  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  is 
made  use  of  at  the  commencement  of  the  arrangements  for 
this  undertaking.  I  preferred  to  have  it  appear  as  the  busi- 
ness of  a  company  rather  than  of  an  individual,  and  several 
of  the  gentlemen  engaged,  Mr.  Hunt,  Mr.  Crooks,  Mr. 
M'Kay,  JM'Dougal,  Stuart,  <Scc.,  were  in  effect  to  be  interested 
as  partners  in  the  undertaking,  so  far  as  respected  the  profit 
which  might  arise,  but  the  means  were  furnished  by  me,  and 
the  property  was  solely  mine,  and  I  sustained  the  loss."  Mr. 
Astor  engaged,  on  this  understanding,  nine  partners  in  his 
scheme,  of  whom  six  were  Scotchmen,  who  had  all  been  in 
the  service  of  the  North-west  Company,  and  three  were  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States.  He  himself  had  become  natural- 
ised in  the  United  States,  but  of  his  Scotch  partners  the  three 
at  least  who  first  joined  him  seem  to  have  had  no  intention  of 
laying  aside  their  national  character,  as,  previously  to  signing, 
in  1810,  the  articles  of  agreement  with  Mr.  Astor,  they  obtain- 


i 


«.  '\ 


rri' 


24 


ASTOBIA. 


i    !   II! 


n 


;-| 


!  I 


cd  from  Mr.  Jackson,  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  an 
assurance  that  "  in  case  of  a  war  between  the  two  nations, 
they  would  be  respected  as  British  subjects  and  merchants." 

Mr.  Astor,  having  at  last  arranged  his  plans,  despatched  in 
September,  1810,  four  of  his  partners,  with  twenty.seven  sub- 
ordinate officers  and  servants,  all  British  subjects,  in  the  ship 
Tonquin,  commanded  by  Jonathan  Thorne,  a  lieutenant  in 
the  United  States  navy,  to  establish  a  settlement  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  river.  They  arrived  at  their  destination  in 
March,  1811,  and  erected  in  a  short  time  a  factory  or  fort  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  about  ten  miles  from  the  mouth,  to 
which  the  name  of  Astoria  was  given.  The  Tonquin  pro- 
ceeded in  June  on  a  trading  voyage  to  the  northward,  and  was 
destroyed  with  her  crew  by  the  Indians  in  the  Bay  of  Clyo- 
quot,  near  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

In  the  following  month  of  July,  Mr.  Thomson,  the  agent  of 
the  North-west  Company,  to  whom  allusion  has  already  been 
made,  descended  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  and 
visited  the  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  He  was 
received  with  friendly  hospitality  by  his  old  companion,  Mr. 
M'Dougal,  who  was  the  superintendent,  and  shortly  took  his 
departure  again,  Mr.  Stuart,  one  of  the  partners,  accompany- 
ing him  up  the  river  as  far  as  its  junction  with  the  Okinagan, 
where  he  remained  during  the  winter,  collecting  furs  from 
the  natives.  The  factory  at  Astoria,  in  the  mean  time,  was 
reinforced  in  January,  1812,  by  a  further  detachment  of  per- 
sons in  the  service  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  who  had  set 
out  overland  early  in  1811,  and  after  suffering  extreme  hard, 
ships,  and  losing  several  of  their  number,  at  last  made  their 
way,  in  separate  parties,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  A 
third  detachment  was  brought  by  the  ship  Beaver,  in  the  fol- 
lowing May.  All  the  partners  of  the  Company,  exclusive  of 
Mr.  Astor,  had  now  been  despatched  to  the  scene  of  their 
future  trading  operations.  Mr.  Mackay,  who  had  accompa- 
nied Mackenzie  in  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific  in  1793,  was 
alone  wanting  to  their  number  :  ho  had  unfortunately  proceed- 
ed  northwards  with  Captain  Thorne,  in  order  to  make  ar- 
rangements with  the  Russians,  and  was  involved  in  the  com- 
mon fate  of  the  crew  of  the  Tonquin. 

The  circumstances,  however,  of  this  establishment  under- 
went a  great  change  upon  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  Unit- 
ed  States  against  Great  Britain  in  June,  1812.  Tidings  of 
this  event  reached  the  factory  in  January,  1913.  In  the  mean 


I'  '   'i 


DISSOLUTION    OF    THE    COirANY. 


25 


linio  Mr.  Hunt,  the  chief  agent  of  the  Company,  had  sailed 
from  Astoria,  in  the  ship  IJcaver,  in  August,  1812,  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  trade  along  the  northern  coast  ;  whilst 
Mr.  ]\i'Dougal,  the  senior  partner,  with  Mr.  Mackenzie  and 
others,  superintended  the  factory.  They  were  soon  informed 
of  the  success  of  the  British  arms,  and  of  the  blockade  of  iho 
ports  of  the  United  States,  hy  Messrs.  M'Tavish  and  Laroque, 
partners  of  the  North-west  Company,  who  visited  Astoria 
early  in  1813,  with  a  small  detachment  of  persons  in  the  em- 
ployment of  that  company,  and  opened  negotiations  with 
M'Dougal  and  Mackenzie  for  the  dissolution  of  the  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  and  the  abandonment  of  the  establishment  at  Asto- 
ria. The  association  was  in  consequence  formally  dissolved 
in  July,  1813  ;  and  on  the  IGth  of  October  following,  an 
agreement  was  executed  between  Messrs.  M*Tavish  and 
John  Stuart,  on  the  part  of  the  North-west  Company,  and 
Messrs.  M'Dougal,  Mackenzie,  David  Stuart,  and  Clarke,  on 
the  part  of  the  J^acific  Fur  Company,  by  which  all  the  estab- 
lishments, furs,  and  stock  in  hand  of  the  late  Pacific  Fur  Com- 
pany  were  transferred  to  the  North-west  Company,  at  a  given 
valuation,  which  produced,  according  to  Mr.  Greenhow,  a 
sum  total  of  58,000  dollars.  It  may  be  observed,  that  four 
partners  only  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  appear  to  have  been 
parties  to  this  agreement;  but  they  constituted  the  entire 
body  which  remained  at  Astoria,  Mr.  Hunt,  being  absent,  as 
already  stated,  and  Messrs  Crooks,  Maclellan,  and  II.  Stuart, 
having  returned  over-land  to  New-York  in  the  spring  of  1813. 

The  bargain  had  hardly  been  concluded  when  the  British 
sloop  of  war,  the  Racoon,  under  the  conunand  of  Capt.  Black, 
entered  the  Columbia  river,  with  the  express  purpose  of  de- 
stroying the  settlement  at  Astoria  ;  but  the  establishment  had 
previously  become  the  property  of  the  North-west  Company, 
and  was  in  the  hands  of  their  agents.  All  that  remained  for 
Captain  Black  to  perform,  was  to  hoist  the  British  ensign  over 
the  factory,  the  name  of  which  he  changed  to  Fort  George. 

Mr.  M'Dougal  and  the  majority  of  the  persons  who  had 
been  employed  by  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  passed  into  the 
service  of  the  North-west  Company ;  and  the  agents  of  the 
latter  body,  with  the  aid  of  supplies  from  Knglan<l,  which  ar- 
rived in  1814,  were  enabled  fo  extend  thn  fifld  nf  their  oponi- 
linns,  and  to  0!^1;iltli-ih  thrm^^rlves  (irnilv  in  t'n-  n  nritrv.  \\n- 
distuibcd  by  any  rivals. 


■ !  i 


^fi 


f 


''r 


■  ■  \ 
'■*  I 


26 


CHAPTER  II. 


;    ; 


1  n 


i  - 


'f!  II 


ON  THE    DISCOVERY  OF  THE  NORTH-WEST  COAST  OF 

AMERICA. 

Voyapc  of  Francisco  de  Ulloa,  in  1539. — Cabrillo,  in  1542. — Drake,  in 
1577-80. — TIjc  Famous  Voyage. — The  World  Encompassed. — Nuno 
da  Silva. — Edward  Cliffe. — Francis  Pretty,  not  the  Author  of  the  Fa- 
mous Voyage. — Fleurieu. — Pretty  the  Author  of  the  Voyage  of  Caven- 
dish.— Purchas'  Pilgrims. — Notes  of  Fletcher. — World  Encompassed, 
published  in  1628. — Mr.  Grcenhow's  Mistake  in  respect  to  the  World 
Encompassed  and  the  Famous  Voyage  —  Agreement  between  the 
World  Encompassed  and  the  Narrative  of  Da  tSilva. — Fletcher's  Ma- 
nuscript  in  the  Sloane  Collection  of  the  British  Museum. — Furthest 
Limit  southward  of  Drake's  Voyage. — Northern  Limit  43°  and  up- 
wards by  the  Famous  Voyage,  4ti°  by  the  World  Encompassed. — The 
latter  confirmed  by  Stow,  tlic  Annalist,  in  1592,  and  by  John  Davis, 
the  Navigator,  in  1595,  and  by  Sir  W.  Monson  in  his  Nav^al  Tracts.— 
Camden's  Life  of  Elizabeth. — Dr.  Johnson's  Life  of  Sir  F.  Drake.  — 
Fleurieu's  Introduction  to  Marchatid's  Voyage. — Introduction  to  the 
Voyage  of  Galiano  and  Valdds — Alexander  von  Humboldt's  New 
Spaiu. 

The  Spaniards  justly  lay  claim  to  the  discovery  of  a  consi- 
derable portion  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  An  ex. 
peditionfrom  Acapulco  under  Francisco  de  Ulloa,  in  1539,  first 
determined  California  to  be  a  peninsula,  by  exploring  the 
Gulf  of  California  from  La  Paz  to  Its  northern  extremity.  The 
chart,  which  Domingo  del  Castillo,  the  pilot  of  Ulloa,  drew  up 
as  the  result  of  this  voyage,  differs  very  slightly,  according  to 
Alexander  von  Humboldt,  from  those  of  the  present  day.  Ul- 
loa subsequently  explored  the  western  coast  of  California.  Of 
the  extent  of  his  discoveries  on  this  occasion  there  are  contra- 
dictory  accounts,  but  the  extreme  limit  assigned  to  them  does 
not  reach  further  north  than  Cape  Engafio,  in  30°  north  lati- 
tude. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  1542,  two  vessels  were 
despatched  under  Juan  Rodriguez  Cabrillo  from  the  port  of 
Navidad.     He  examined  the  coast  of  California,  as  far  north 
as  37°   10',  when  he  was  driven  back  by  a  storm   to  the  is- 
land of  San  Bernardo,  in  34"^,  where  he  died.     His  pilot, 


-«4 


.ill 


it 


CAIJIIILLO  S    VOYAGE. 


27 


Bartolcme  Ferrclo,  continued  his  course  northwards  after  the 
death  of  his  commander.  The  most  northern  point  of  land 
mentioned  in  the  accounts  of  the  expedition  which  have  been 
preserved,  was  Cabode  Fortunas,  phaced  by  Ferrelo  in  41°, 
which  is  supposed  by  Mr.  Greenhow  to  have  been  the  head- 
land in  40°  20',  to  which  the  name  of  C.  Mendocino  was 
given,  in  honor  of  the  viceroy,  Mendoza.  Other  authors, 
however,  whose  opinion  is  entitled  to  consideration,  maintain 
that  Ferrelo  discovered  Cape  Blanco  in  43°,  to  which  Van- 
couver subsequently  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Orford.  (Hum- 
l)oldt,  Essai  Politique  sur  la  Nouvello  Espagne,  1.  iii.,  c.  viii. 
Introduccion  al  llelacion  del  Viage  hecho  por  las  GoletasSu- 
til  y  Mexicana  en  el  ano  do  1792.) 

The  Bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.,  as  is  well  known,  gave  to 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of  Spain  all  the  New  World  to  the 
westward  of  a  meridian  line  drawn  a  hundred  leagues  west  of 
the  Azores.  When  England,  however,  shook  off  the  yoke  of 
the  Papacy,  she  refused  to  admit  the  validity  of  Spanish  titles 
when  based  only  on  such  concessions.  Elizabeth,  for  in- 
stance, expressly  refused  to  acknowledge  "  any  title  in  the 
Spaniards  by  donation  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  to  places  of 
which  they  were  not  in  actual  possession,  and  she  did  not  un- 
derstand  why,  therefore,  cither  her  subjects,  or  those  of  any 
other  European  prince,  should  be  debarred  from  traffic  in  the 
Indies."  In  accordance  with  such  a  policy,  Sir  Francis 
Drake  obtained,  through  the  interest  of  Sir  Christopher  Hat- 
ton,  the  vice-chamberlain  of  the  Queen,  her  approval  of  an 
expedition  projected  by  him  into  the  South  Sea.  He  set  sail 
from  Plymouth  in  IT)??,  passed  through  the  Straits  of  Magel- 
Ian  in  the  autumn  of  1578,  and  ravaged  the  coast  of  Mexico  in 
the  spring  of  1579.  Being  justly  apprehensive  that  the  Span- 
iards would  intercept  him  if  he  should  attempt  to  re-pass  Ma- 
gellan's Straits  with  his  rich  booty,  and  being  likewise  reluct- 
ant to  encounter  again  the  dangers  of  that  channel,  he  deter- 
mined to  attempt  the  discovery  of  a  north-east  passage  from 
the  South  Sea  into  the  Atlantic,  by  the  reported  Straits  of 
Anian. 

There  are  two  accounts,  professedly  complete,  of  Drake's 
Voyage.  The  earliest  of  tliese  first  occurs  in  Hakluyt's  Col- 
lection of  Voyages,  pul)lished  in  1589,  and  is  entitled  "  The 
Famous  Voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  into  the  South  Sea,  and 
there. hence  about  the  whdie  Globe  of  the  Earth,  begun  in  the 
yeere  of  our  Lord,  1577."     It  was  republished,  by  Ilakluyt, 


H 


■  .  ; 


28 


DKAKE  8    VOYAGE. 


i  I  : 


I     11.1'    'i 


with  some  alterations,  in  his  subsequent  edition  of  1598-1600, 
and  may  be  most  readily  referred  to  in  the  fourth  volume  of 
the  reprint  of  this  latter  edition,  published  in  1811.  The 
other  account  is  intitlcd  "  The  World  Encompassed  by  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  collected  out  of  the  notes  of  Mr.  Francis  Flet- 
cher, Preacher  in  this  em|)loyment,  and  compared  with  divers 
others'  notes  that  went  in  the  same  Voyage."  This  work 
was  tirst  published  in  1G28,  by  Nicholas  Bourne,  and  "  sold 
at  his  shop  at  the  Royal  Exchange."  It  appears  to  have  been 
compiled  by  Francis  Drake,  the  nephew  of  the  circumnaviga- 
tor, as  a  dedication  "  to  the  truly  noble  Robert  Earl  of  War- 
wick" is  prefixed,  with  iiis  name  attached  to  it.  It  will  be 
found  most  readily  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Harleian  col- 
lection of  voyages.  There  are  also  to  be  found  in  Hakluyt's 
fourth  volume,  two  independent,  but  unfortunately  imperfect, 
narratives,  one  by  Nuno  da  Silva,  the  Portuguese  pilot,  who 
was  pressed  by  Sir  F.  Drake  into  his  service  at  St.  Jago,  one 
of  the  Cape  Verde  islands,  and  discharged  at  Guatulco,  where 
his  account  terminates  ;  the  other  by  Edward  Cliffe,  a  mari- 
ner on  board  the  ship  Elizaljeth,  commanded  by  Mr.  John 
Winter,  one  of  Drake's  squadron,  which  parted  company  from 
him  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  immediately  after 
passing  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  The  Elizabeth 
succeeded  in  re-passing  the  straits,  and  arrived  safe  at  llfra- 
combe  on  June  2d,  1579;  and  Mr.  Clifte's  narrative,  being 
confined  to  the  voyage  of  his  own  ship,  is  consequently  the 
least  complete  of  all,  in  respect  to  Drake's  adventures. 

It  is  a  disputed  point,  whether  Drake,  in  his  attempt  to  find 
a  passage  to  the  Atlantic,  by  the  north  of  California,  reached 
the  latitude  of  48°  or  43°.  The  Famous  Voyage,  is  the  ac- 
count, on  which  the  advocates  for  the  lower  latitude  of  43°  re- 
ly. The  World  Encompassed,  supported  by  Stow  the  anna- 
list, and  two  independent  naval  authorities,  cotemporaries  of 
Sir  F.  Drake,  is  quoted  in  favour  of  the  higher  latitude  of  4S°. 
Before  examining  the  interval  evidence  of  the  two  accounts, 
it  may  be  as  well  to  consider  the  authoiity  which  is  due  to 
them  from  extej-nal  circumHtaucos,  as  Mr.  (IixMMihow's  ac- 
count of  the  two  works  is  calculated  to  mislead  the  judgment 
of  the  reader  in  this  respect. 

Mr.  (ireenhow,  (p.  73,)  in  referring  to  the  Famous  Voyage, 
.«!jys  that  it  was  "  written  by  Francis  Pretty,  one  of  the  crew 
of  Drake's  vessel,  at  the  request  of  llakhiyt,  and  published  \>y 
him  in  1589.     It  is  a  plain  and  succinct  account  of  what  the 


"THE    FAMOUS    VOYAGE." 


29 


!>l 


)\V  s  uc- 


writcr  saw,  or  believed  to  have  occurred  during  the  voyage, 
and  bears  all  the  marks  of  truth  and  authenticity." 

This  statement  could  not  but  excite  some  surprise,  as  tho 
Famous  Voyage  has  no  author's  name  attached  to  it,  cither  in 
the  first  edition  ofloSO,  or  in  any  of  tho  later  editions  ofllak- 
luyt,  the  more  so  because  Ilakluyt  himself,  in  his  Address  to 
the  favorable  reader,  prefixed  to  the  edition  of  15S9,  leads  us 
to  suppose  that  he  was  himself  the  author  of  the  work.  "  For 
the  conclusion  of  all,  the  memora])lo  voyage  of  Master  Thomas 
Candish  into  the  South  Sea,  and  from  thence  about  the  Globe 
of  the  Earth  doth  satisfie  me,  and  I  doubt  not  but  will  fully 
content  thee,  which  as  in  time  it  is  later  than  that  of  Sir  F. 
Drake,  so  in  relation  of  the  Philippines,  Japan,  China,  and  the 
isle  of  St.  Helena,  it  is  more  particular  and  exact ;  and  there- 
fore the  want  of  the  first  made  by  Sir  Francis  Drake  will  bo 
the  lesse  ;  wherein  I  must  confess  to  have  taken  more  than  ordi- 
nary paines,  7neaning  to  have  inserted  it  in  this  worhe  ;  but  be- 
ing of  late  (contrary  to  my  expectation,)  seriously  dealt  with- 
all,  not  to  anticipate  or  prevent  another  man's  paines  and 
charge  in  drawing  all  the  services  of  that  worthie  knight  into 
one  volume,  I  have  yielded  unto  those  my  friends  which  press- 
ed me  in  the  matter,  referring  the  further  knowledge  of  his 
proceedings  to  those  intended  discourses." 

Hakluyt,  however,  appears  to  have  had  the  narrative  pri- 
vately printed,  and,  contrary  to  the  intention  which  he  enter- 
tained at  the  time  when  he  wrote  his  preface,  and  compiled 
his  table  of  contents,  and  the  index  of  his  first  edition,  in  nei- 
ther of  which  is  there  any  reference  to  the  Famous  Voyage,  he 
has  inserted  the  Famous  Voyage  between  pages  643  and  644, 
evidently  as  an  interpolation.  It  is  nowhere  stated  that  any 
copy  of  this  edition  exists,  in  which  this  interpolation  does  not 
occur.  It  is  alluded  to  by  Lowndes  in  his  Bibliographical 
Manual,  vol.  ii.,  p.  858,  art.  "  Ilakluyt."  It  is  printed  appa- 
rently on  the  same  kind  of  paper,  with  the  same  kind  of  ink, 
and  in  tho  same  kind  of  type  with  the  rest  of  the  work,  but  tho 
signatures  at  the  bottom  of  the  pngcs,  by  which  term  are 
meant  the  numbers  which  are  placed  on  the  sheets  for  the 
printer's  guidance,  do  not  correspond  with  tho  general  order 
of  the  signatures  of  the  work.  This  fact,  combined  with  tho 
circumstance  that  the  pages  are  not  num]>ercd,  furnishes  a 
strong  presumption  that  it  was  printed  su))sequently  to  tho 
rest  of  the  work.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  evidence  that  it 
was  printed  to  bind  up  with  tho  rest,  from  tho  circumstance 


1 


I 


n 


I 


I 


fi 


ji:; 


•f   sj 

I  ill 


^ 


30 


FltANCIS    I'KETrif. 


that  at  the  bottom  of  the  hist  page  the  word  "  Instructions"  is 
printed  to  correspond  with  the  tirst  word  at  the  top  of  p.  644, 
being  the  title  of  the  next  treatise — "  Instructions  given  by  the 
Honorable  the  Lords  of  tlie  Counseli  to  Edward  Fenton,  Esq. 
for  tlie  order  to  be  observed  in  the  voyage  recommended  to 
him  for  the  East  Indies,  and  Cathay,  April  9,  1582." 

It  can  hardly  be  doulited  that  this  account  is  the  narrative 
about  which  Hakluyt  himself  "  had  taken  more  than  ordinary 
paines."  Hakluyt,  as  is  well  known,  was  a  student  of  Christ 
Church,  Oxford,  who  like  his  imitator  Purchas,  was  imbued 
with  a  strong  natural  bias  towards  geographical  studies,  and 
himself  compiled  many  of  the  narratives  which  his  collection 
contained. 

This  inference  as  to  the  authorship  of  the  Famous  Voyage, 
drawn  from  the  allusion  in  Ilakluyt's  preface  to  the  work,  will 
probably  appear  to  many  minds  more  justifiable,  if  the  claim 
set  up  in  behalf  of  Francis  Pretty  can  be  shown  to  be  utterly 
without  foundation.  It  may  be  as  well,  therefore,  to  dispose 
of  this  at  once.  What  may  have  been  Mr.  Greenhow's  au- 
thority  it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  though  it  may  be  conjec- 
tured, from  another  circumstance  which  will  be  stated  below, 
that  he  has  been  misled  by  an  incorrect  article  on  Sir  Fran- 
cis Drake  in  the  Biographie  Universelle.  M.  Eyries,  the 
writer  of  this  article,  refers  to  Fleurieu  as  his  authority.  Fleu- 
rieu,  however,  who  was  a  distinguished  French  hydrographer, 
and  edited,  in  Paris,  in  the  year  VIII.  (1800)  a  work  intitled 
"  Voyage  autour  du  Monde,  par  Etiennc  Marchand,"  with 
which  he  published  some  observations  of  his  own,  intitled 
"  Recherches  sur  les  terres  de  Drake,"  enumerates  briefly  in 
the  latter  work  the  different  accounts  of  Drake's  voyage,  but 
he  no  where  mentions  the  name  of  the  author  of  the  Famous 
Voyage.  Fleurieu's  information,  indeed,  was  not  in  every 
respect  accurate,  as  he  states  that  the  edition  of  Hakluyt  which 
contained  the  Famous  Voyage  "  ne  parut  a  Londres  qu'en 
IGOO."  What  he  says,  however,  of  the  author,  is  comprised 
in  a  short  note  to  this  effect : — "  Le  gentilhomme  Picard,  (em- 
ploye sur  I'escadre  de  Drake,)  auteur  de  cette  relation,  en  ay- 
ant  remis  une  copie  au  Baron  de  St.  Simon,  Seij/n^  i..-  de 
Courtomer,  celui-ci  engagea  Francois  de  Louvencouri,  Seig- 
neur de  Vauchelles,  li  en  faire  un  extrait  en  Frantjais  sous  le 
titre  do  '  le  Voyage  Curieux  faict  autour  du  Monde  par  Fran- 
qois  Drach,  Amiral  d'Angleterre,'  qui  fut  imprimc  chez  Ges- 
selin,  Paris,  1G27,  en  8vo." 


** 


« »- 


VOYAGE    DE    DKACII. 


31 


tioiis"  is 
fp.  644, 
Ml  by  tho 
on,  Esq. 
3nde(l  to 

larrativo 
ordinary 
of  Christ 
I  imbued 
lies,  and 
;ollectioii 

Voyage, 
vork,  will 
he  claim 
)e  utterly 
o  dispose 
low's  au- 
e  conjec- 
3d  below. 
Sir  Fran- 
rics,  the 
ty.  Fleu- 
)graphcr, 
i  intitled 
,"  with 
intitled 
briefly  in 
yage,  but 
Famous 
in  every 
lyt  which 
res  qu'en 
omprised 
ard,  (em- 
n,  en  ay- 
ir«ii(.."  de 
in,  Seig. 
is  sous  lb 
mr  Fran- 
hez  Ges- 


M 


m 


It  might  be  supposed  from  this  statement,  that  the  work  of 
M.  «lo  Louvencourt  would  disclose  the  name  of  the  gentleman 
of  Picardy,  who  had  been  the  companion  of  Drake  ;  but  on  re- 
ferring to  the  edition  just  cited  of  the  French  translation,  tho 
only  allusion  to  J)rake's  companion  which  is  to  bo  found  in 
the  work,  occurs  in  a  few  words  forming  part  of  the  dedica- 
tion to  M.  de  St.  Simon  : — "Or,  Monsieur,  je  le  vous  dc'die, 
parcoijue  c'est  vous  que  m'aviez  donnc',  m'ayant  fait  entendre, 
<iue  vous  I'aviez  eu  d'un  de  vos  sujets  de  Courtomer,  (jui  a  fait 
le  nit'me  voyage  avec  ce  seigneur."  Nothing  further  can 
safely  be  inferred  from  this,  than  that  M.  de  St  Simon  receiv- 
ed the  English  copy,  which  M.  do  Louvencourt  made  use  of, 
from  one  of  his  vassals  who  had  accompanied  Drake  in  his 
expedition  ;  but  whether  this  Picard  subject  of  the  lord  of 
Courtomer  was  the  author  of  the  narrative,  does  not  appear 
from  the  mcajire  dedication,  which  seems  to  have  been  the 
basis  upon  which  Fleurieu's  statement  was  founded. 

Fleurieu  refers  to  the  Famous  Voyage  as  printed  in  duode- 
cimo, in  London,  in  the  year  1600.  This  edition,  however, 
cannot  ])e  traced  in  the  catalogue  of  the  British  Museum  or 


the  Bodleian  Lib 


rary. 


nor  does  Watt  refer  to  it  in  his  Biblio- 


theca  Britannica :  but  Fleurieu  may  have  had  authority  for  his 
statement,  though  the  size  of  the  edition  is  at  least  suspicious. 
Even  the  French  translation  of  1627,  of  which  there  was  an 
earlier  edition  in  1613,  apparently  unknown  to  Fleurieu,  is  in 
8vo,  and  an  English  edition  of  the  Famous  Voyage,  slightly 
modified,  which  was  published  in  London  in  1752,  and  may 
be  found  in  the  British  Museum,  is  a  very  mean  pamphlet, 
though  in  8vo.  The  separate  editions  likewise  of  Drake's 
other  voyages  which  are  to  be  met  with  in  public  libraries 
are  in  small  quarto,  so  that  there  would  be  no  argument  from 
analogy  in  favor  of  an  edition  in  12mo.  The  fact,  however, 
of  its  having  disappeared,  might  perhaps  be  urged  as  a  sign  of 
the  insignificance  of  the  edition. 

It  is  very  immaterial,  even  if  Fleurieu  has  hazarded  a  hasty 
statement  in  respect  to  there  having  been  a  separate  edition 
of  the  Famous  Voyage  as  early  as  1600.  Thus  much,  at  least, 
is  certain,  that  Fleurieu  is  incorrect  in  stating  that  the  edition 
of  Hakluyt,  in  which  it  was  inserted,  did  not  appear  before 
1600  ;  for  a  careful  comparison  between  the  French  transla- 
tion, and  the  respective  English  editions  of  1589  and  1600, 
furnishes  conclusive  evidence  that  M.  de  Louvoncourt's  trans, 
lation  was  made  from  the  narrative  in  the  edition  of  1589. 


I 


m 


M 


ji 


t^ 


r: 


32 


FLEUniEU. 


I; 


il 


i 


Two  examples  will  sufTico.  The  edition  of  15S9  gives  55^ 
degrees  of  southern  latitude,  and  42  degrees  of  northern  lati- 
tude, as  the  extreme  limits  of  Drake's  voyage  towards  the  two 
poles,  which  the  French  translation  follows ;  whilst  the  edi- 
tion of  1600  gives  57^  degrees  of  southern  latitude,  and  43 
degrees  of  northern  latitude,  as  the  southern  and  northern  ex- 
tremes. There  can  therefore  be  little  doubt  that  the  woik, 
which  M.  do  Louvencourt  translated,  was  the  narrative  about 
which  llakluyt  himself  had  taken  no  ordinary  pains  :  and 
which  he  printed  separately  from  his  general  collection  of 
A'oyages,  so  that  it  might  be  circulated  privately,  though  ho 
incorporated  it  into  the  work  after  it  was  completed. 

Ho  far,  indeed,  are  we  from  finding  any  good  authority  for 
attributing  the  authorship  of  the  Famous  Voyage  of  Sir  Fran- 
cis Drake  to  Francis  Pretty,  one  of  his  crew,  as  unhesitatingly 
advanced  by  Mr.  Greenhow,  that,  on  the  contrary  there  is  the 
strongest  negative  evidence  that  it  was  not  written  by  a  per- 
son of  that  name,  unless  wc  are  prepared  to  admit  that  there 
were  two  individuals  of  that  name,  Ihe  one  a  native  of  Picar- 
dy,  and  vassal  of  the  Sieur  de  Courtomer,  the  otheran  English 
gentleman,  "  of  Ey  in  Suliblke  ;"  the  one  a  companion  of 
Drake,  in  his  voyage  round  the  world  in  1577-80,  the  other  a 
companion  of  Cavendish,  in  his  voyage  round  the  world  in 
1 580-88  ;  the  one  the  author  of  the  Famous  Voyage  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  the  other  the  writer  of  the  Admirable  and  Pros- 
perous Voyage  of  the  Worshipful  Master  Thomas  Candish. 

Hakluyt,  in  his  edition  of  1589,  gave  merely  "  The  Worthy 
and  Famous  Voyage  of  Master  Thomas  Candishe,  made  round 
about  the  Globe  of  the  Earth  in  the  space  of  two  yeeres,  and 
lesse  than  two  months,  begon  in  the  yeere  1586,"  which  is 
subscribed  at  the  end,  "written  by  N.  H. ;"  but  in  his  edi- 
tion of  1600,  he  published  a  fuller  and  more  complete  narra- 
tive, entitled,  "The  Admirable  and  Prosperous  Voyage  of  the 
Worshipfull  Master  Thomas  Candish,  of  Frimley,  in  the  Coun- 
tie  of  SufTolke,  Esquire,  into  the  South  Sea,  and  from  thenco 
round  about  the  circumference  of  the  whole  earth ;  begun  in 
the  yeere  of  our  Lord  1586,  and  finished  1588.  Written  by 
Master  Francis  Pretty,  lately  of  Ey,  in  Sufiblke,  a  gentleman 
employed  in  the  same  action."  The  author,  in  the  course  of 
the  narrative,  styles  himself  Francis  Pretie,  and  says  that  he 
was  one  of  the  crew  of  the  "  Hugh  Gallant,  a  barke  of  40 
tunnes,"  which,  with  the  Desire,  of  120,  and  the  Content,  of 
60  tons,  made  up  Cavendish's  small  fleet.     This  Suffolk  gen- 

/I. 


NUNO    DA    SII.VA. 


03 


tlcman,  for  several  reasons,  could  not  bo  the  same  indivia  .1 
as  the  Plcard  vassal  of  the  lord  of  Courtomor,  nor  is  it  proba- 
ble that  he  ever  formed  part  of  the  crew  of  J)rake's  vessel  in 
the  Famous  Voyage,  as  he  no  where  alludes  to  the  circum- 
stance, when  he  speaks  of  places  which  Drake  visited,  nor 
even  when  he  describes  the  hull  of  a  small  bark,  pointed  out 
to  them  by  a  Spaniard,  whom  they  had  lately  taken  on  board, 
in  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  "  which  wo 
judged  to  be  a  bark  called  the  John  Thomas."  Now  it  is 
contrary  to  all  probability  that  the  writer  of  this  passage 
should  have  been  one  of  Drake's  crew,  for  the  vessel,  whoso 
hull  was  seen  on  this  occasion,  was  tho  Marigold,  a  bark  of 
50  tons,  which  had  formed  one  of  Drake's  fleet  of  five  vessels, 
and  had  been  commanded  by  Captain  John  Thomas,  which 
fact  would  have  been  known  to  one  of  Drake's  companions, 
who  could  never  have  committed  so  gross  a  blunder  as  to  con- 
found the  name  of  the  ship  with  the  name  of  the  captain. 
That  the  circumstances  of  the  loss  of  the  Marigold  made  no 
slight  impression  upon  the  muids  of  Drake's  companions,  is 
shown  from  its  being  alluded  to  in  all  the  narratives  of  Nuno 
da  Silva,  Clifle,  and  Fletcher,  without  exception. 

Drake  had  succeeded  in  passing  the  Straits  of  Magellan 
with  three  of  his  vessels  :  the  Golden  Ilind,  his  own  ship  ; 
the  Elizabeth,  commanded  l)y  Captain  Winter  ;  and  the  Mari- 
gold, by  Captain  Thomas.  On  the  80th  of  September,  1578, 
the  Marigold  parted  from  them  in  a  gale  of  wind,  and  wag 
wrecked  in  the  Straits.  On  the  7th  ot^  October  the  Elizabeth 
likewise  parted  company  from  the  Admiral ;  she,  however, 
succeeded  in  making  her  way  back  through  tho  Straits,  and 
arrived  safe  at  Ilfracombe  on  the  7th  of  June,  1579.  It  is 
singular  that,  in  all  the  three  accounts,  which  are  known  to 
be  written  by  companions  of  Drake,  the  separation  of  tho 
Marigold,  as  well  as  of  the  Elizabeth,  is  alluded  to  ;  whereas, 
in  the  Famous  Voyage,  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  loss  of  the 
Marigold,  but  only  to  the  separation  of  the  Elizabeth,  whose 
safe  arrival  in  England  made  the  fact  notorious.  If  Ilakluyt 
wrote  the  Famous  Voyage,  the  general  notoriety  of  the  sepa- 
rate return  of  the  Elizalieth  would  account  for  his  not  over- 
looking  that  circumstance,  whilst  he  omitted  all  allusion  to 
the  Marigold,  about  which  his  information  would  be  compara- 
tively  imperfect.  If  one  of  Drake's  own  crew  was  the  author, 
it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  ho  would  have  carefully  alluded 
to  "  their  losing  sight  of  their  consort,  in  which  Mr.  Winter 


ill 


I 


If 


h. 


V"' 


^.'■i 

f 


V"r 


;34 


runciiAs    riLORiMS. 


1!| 


i\m 


M! 


was,"  who  (lid  not  perish,  and  should  omit  all  mention  of  the 
loss  ot'the  Marigold,  which  is  spoken  of  in  the  World  Encom- 
passed "as  the  sorrowful  separation  of  the  Marigold  from  us, 
in  which  was  Captain  John  Thomas,  with  many  others  of  our 
dear  friends." 

The  course  of  this  inquiry  seems  to  justify  the  following; 
conchisions:  that  the  "  Famous  Voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake" 
is,  strictly  speaking,  an  anonymous  work  ;  that  it  is  very  im- 
P''obablc  that  it  was  compiled  by  one  of  Drake's  crew ;  on 
the  contrary,  Ilakluyt's  own  prelace  to  his  edition  of  1589, 
seems  to  warrant  us  in  supposing  that  ho  had  himself  ])een 
emj)loy(;d  in  preparing  the  narrative,  which  ho  printed  sepa- 
rately from  the  rest  of  his  work,  but  subsequently  inserted 
into  it.  llakluyt  had  most  probably  procured  information 
from  original  sources,  but  he  had  certainly  not  access,  ii  15S9, 
to  what  he  subsequently  considered  to  be  more  trustworthy 
sources,  for  he  made  various  alterations  in  his  nanatlvc,  in 
his  edition  of  1600.  There  is  assuredly  not  the  slightest 
ground  for  attributing  it  to  Francis  Pretty ;  and  if  M.  Eyrii's 
was  the  originator  of  this  mistake,  he  must  undotibtedly  have 
confounded  the  Famous  Voyage  of  Drake  with  the  Famous 
Voyage  of  Candish.  All  that  can  be  inferred  from  M.  de 
Louvencourt's  dedication  of  his  French  tt  Mislation  to  M.  de 
St.  Simon  is,  that  the  Lord  of  Courtomer  had  received  the 
English  original  from  one  of  his  vassals,  who  had  sailed  with 
Drake  ;  but  the  most  ingenious  interpretation  of  his  words 
will  not  warrant  u8  in  inferrinff  that  the  donor  was  likewise 
the  author  of  the  work. 

It  may  be  not  unworthy  of  remark,  that  Purchas,  in  the  fifth 
volume  of  his  Pilgrims,  (p.  1181,)  gives  a  list  of  persons  known 
to  the  world  as  the  companions  of  Drake,  in  which  the  name 
of  Francis  Pretty  is  not  found.  "  Men  noted  to  have  com- 
passed the  world  with  Drake,  which  have  come  to  my  hands, 
are  Thomas  Drake,  brother  to  Sir  Francis,  Thomas  Ilood, 
Thomas  Blaccoler,  John  Grippe,  George,  a  musician.  Crane, 
Fletcher,  Cary,  Moore,  John  Drake,  John  Thomas,  Robert 
Winterly,  Oliver,  the  gunner,  &;c."  It  would  be  a  reflection 
upon  the  well-known  pains-taking  research  of  Purchas,  to 
suppose  that  he  would  have  omitted  from  his  list  the  name  of 
the  author  of  the  Famous  Voyage,  had  he  been  really  one  of 
Drake's  crew. 

The  other  narrative,  which  is  far  more  full  and  complete 
than  the  Famous   Voyage,  is  entitled  the  "  World  Encom- 


"TIIR    WORLD    i:\COMrA.SSED. 


35 


crew :  on 


passed."  It  was  published  under  the  .superintendence  ot'  Vrnn- 
cis  Drake,  a  nephew  of  the  Athniral,  it'  not  C()in[)iled  hy  him  ; 
the  tbundation  of  it,  as  stated  in  the  titU*,  seems  t<j  liave  heeii 
the  notes  of  Francis  Fletcher,  the  chaplain  of  Drake's  vessel, 
*'  compared  with  divers  others'  notes  that  went  in  the  same 
voyajre."  Fleurieu,  in  speaking  of  this  work,  says  :  "Celle- 
ci  est  le  recit  d'un  temoin  oculaire  :  et  la  function  qu'il  rein- 
plissait  a  l)ord  du  vaisseau  ainiral  ponrrait  faire  pn'sumer  cpie, 
s'il  n'etait  pas  riiomme  de  la  ilotte  h;  plus  expi'rimentt'  dans 
I'art  de  la  navi<rafi(jn,  du  moins  il  devait  rtre  celui  (pic  les 
etudes  cxigres  de  sa  profession  avaient  mis  lo  plus  a  portre 
d'acquerir  quelques  connaissances,  et  qui  pouvait  le  n)ieux 
exprimer  ce  qu'il  avait  vu."  (Rccherches  sur  les  terres  aus- 
trales  de  Drake,  p.  'J'-iT.) 

Fleurieu,  in  further  illustration  of  the  probable  fitness  of 
Fletcher  for  his  task,  refers  to  the  excellent  account  of  An- 
son's Voyages,  written  by  his  chaj)lain,  R.  Walter,  and  to  the 
valua])le  treatise  on  naval  evolutions,  compiled  by  the  Jesuit 
Paul  Hoste,  the  chaplain  of  Tourville. 

The  earliest  edition  of  "The  World  Encompassed"  appeared 
in  l(3*-i8,and  a  copy  of  this  date  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  at  Oxford.  It  was  printed  for  Nicholas  Bourne,  as 
"the  next  voyage  to  that  to  Noml)re  de  Dios,  in  loT'J,  for- 
merly imprinted."  A  second  edition  was  printed  in  103'), 
and  is  in  the  King's  Library  at  the  British  Museum.  A  third 
edition  was  published  in  1052,  and  may  be  found  in  the  Li- 
brary of  the  British  Museum.  It  was  therefore  impossible 
not  to  feel  surprise  at  Mr.  (Jreenhow's  deliberately  stating, 
that  this  work  was  not  published  before  1052,  the  more  so  as 
Watt,  in  his  Bibliotheca  Britannica,  refers  to  the  tirst  editifni 
of  1028.  It  is  the  coincidence  of  this  second  error,  which 
warrants  the  supposition  that  Mr.  Greenhow  has  placed  too 
implicit  a  faith  in  the  writer  of  the  article  upon  Drake,  in  the 
Biograj)hie  Universelle.  M.  Eyries,  the  author  of  that  article, 
there  writes,  "  Un  autre  ouvrage  original  est  celui  qui  fut 
compose  sur  les  memoires  de  Francis  Fletcher,  chapelain  sur 
le  vaisseau  de  Drake.  Ces  mi'moires  furent  compares  et  fon- 
dus  avec  ceux  do  plusieurs  autres  personnes  qui  avaient  ete 
employees  dans  la  meme  expedition  ;  le  resultat  de  ce  travail 
paiut  sous  ce  titre  :  The  World  Encompassed,  by  Sir  F. 
Drake,  collected  out  of  the  notes  of  Master  F.  F.,  preacher  in 
this   employment,  and  others.     Londres,  1052,  8vo."    There 


a 


■  t\ 


m 


■  1 


/ 


ao 


FLnxciirus  Joi;n\Ai.. 


•ill      :( 


:i!!yi 


is  nnotlicr  slight  error  in  this  statement,  as  the  work  is  a 
small  4to,  not  an  8vo. 

It  has  been  dcoined  the  more  necessary  to  point  out  care- 
fully the  errors  of  Mr.  (Jreenhow,  in  regard  to  these  two  nar- 
ratives, because  ho  contrasts  them  expressly  (p.  74)  as  "  tho 
one  proceeding  entirely  from  a  person  who  had  accompanied 
Drake  in  his  expedition,  and  published  in  ir)S9,  during  tho 
life  of  the  hero ;  the  other  compiled  from  various  accounts, 
and  not  given  to  the  world  until  the  middle  of  the  following 
century." 

In  respect  to  the  narrative  of  the  World  Encompassed,  Mr, 
Greenhow  thus  expresses  himself: — "  It  is  a  long  and  difiusc 
account,  fdled  with  dull  and  generally  absmd  speculations, 
and  containing  moreover  a  number  of  statements,  which  are 
positive  and  evidently  wilful  falsehoods  ;  yet  it  contains 
scarcely  a  single  fact  not  related  in  tho  Famous  Voyage, 
from  which  many  sentences  and  paragraphs  are  taken  verba- 
tim, while  others  convey  tho  same  meaning  in  dirterent  terms. 
The  journal,  or  supposed  journal  of  Fletcher's,  remains  in 
manuscript  in  the  British  Museum  :  and  from  it  were  derived 
the  false  statements  above  mentioned,  according  to  Barrow, 
who  consulted  it." 

Mr.  Greenhow's  opinion  of  the  length  and  dilTuseness  of 
the  narrative,  and  of  the  dulness  and  general  absurdity  of  the 
speculations,  will  jjrobably  be  acquiesced  in  by  those  who 
have  read  tho  World  Encompassed,  but  tho  rest  of  his  obser- 
vations have  been  made  at  random.  Tho  World  Encom- 
passed does  not  profess  to  be  an  original  work,  but  to  be  a 
compilation  from  the  notes  of  several  who  went  the  voyage. 
It  is  therefore  highly  probable  that  the  compiler  had  before 
him  "  Tho  Famous  V^oyage  "  amongst  other  narratives,  and 
we  should  be  prepared  to  lind  many  statements  alike  in  tho 
two  accounts.  But  it  seems  hard  to  suppose  with  Mr.  Green- 
Iiow,  that,  where  the  World  Encompassed  differs  from  the 
Famous  Voyage,  the  statements  are  "  positive  and  evidently 
wilful  falsehoods."  There  are  several  statements,  for  in- 
stance, where  the  two  narratives  differ,  and  where  the  World 
Encompassed  agrees  with  Nuuo  da  Silva's  account,  or  with 
Ciifle's  narrative. 

For  instance,  on  the  second  day  after  clearing  the  Straits 
of  Magellan,  on  Sept.  7th,  a  violent  gale  came  on  from  the 
northeast,  which  drove  Drake's  three  vessels,  the  Golden  Hind, 
tho   Elizabeth,  and  tho  Marigold  to  tho  height  of  57°  south 


>  ; 


ROUTHKHN   TERRA    IXCOGNITA. 


87 


)rk  is  a 

Dut  care* 
two  nar- 
as  "  tho 
iinpanicd 
iring  tho 
iccounts, 
following 

sseJ,  Mr. 

id  di  fill  so 

nilations, 

hich  nro 

contains 

Voyage, 

jn  verba- 

nt  terms. 

mains  in 

c  derived 

Barrow, 

cncss  of 

ty  of  the 

ose  who 

s  obser- 

Encom- 

to  be  a 

voyage. 

1  before 

ivcs,  and 

e  in  tho 

.  Green- 

om  tho 

ividently 

for  in- 

e  World 

or  with 

Straits 

from  tho 

Hind, 

•°  south 


'I 


■V.<L 


rMTording  to  C'lilft',  and  about  '200  leagues  in  longitude  west 
of  the  strait,  according  to  the  Famous  Voyage.  They  could 
make  no  head  against  the  gale  for  three  weeks,  and  during 
that  interval  there  was  an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  which  is  alluded 
to  in  all  the  u!!  rratives.  According  to  Nuno  da  Silva,  hey 
lay  driving  about,  without  venturing  to  hoist  a  sail  till  tho  last 
<iay  of  JS(!ptember,  and  about  this  time  lost  sight  of  the  Mari- 
gold. The  I'Mizabeth  still  kept  company  with  the  Golden 
Hind,  but  on  or  before  October  7th,  J)rake's  vessel  parted 
from  her  consort.  W'e  now  couu5  to  a  very  im[)ortant  event 
in  Drake's  voyage,  which  would  seem  to  be  one  of  the  sup- 
posed *'p(isitive  and  evidently  wilfid  falsehoods,"  to  which 
Mr.  (jlreeidiow  alludes. 

The  I'auious  Voyage  coiulu<ts  Sir  F.  Drake  in  a  continuous 
course  north-westward,  after  losing  sight  of  the  I'>lizabeth,  to 
the  island  of  Mocha,  in  M^o  :]()'  south,  whereas  the' World 
liUcompassed  says,  that  "  Drake,  being  driven  from  the  Bay 
of  the  Parting  of  Friends  out  into  the  open  sea,  was  carried 
back  again  to  the  southward  into  5.1''  south,  on  which  height 
thev  found  shelter  for  two  days  amonjrst  the  islands,  but  were 
again  driven  further  to  the  southx^ard,  and  at  length  fell  in 
with  the  uttermost  part  of  land  towards  the  South  Pole,"  in 
u])out  r)(P  south.  Here  Fletcher  himself  landed,  and  travelled 
to  the  southernmost  part  of  the  island,  be^'ond  which  there  was 
neither  continent  nor  island,  but  oiu^  wide  ocean.  We  altered 
the  name,  says  I'letcher  in  his  MS.  journal,  from  Teri-a  In- 
cognita, to  Terra  nunc  bene;  (.'cguita.  Now  this  accoiujt  in 
the  World  I'licompassed,  varying  fo  totally  from  that  in  the 
Famous  Voyage,  is  fully  borne  out  by  the  positive  evidence 
of  Nuuo  da  Silva,  who  says,  that  after  losing  sight  of  another 
ship  of  their  company,  the  Admiral's  ship  being  now  left; 
alone,  with  this  foul  weather  they  ran  till  they  were  under 
.17'^,  where  they  entered  into  tho  haven  of  an  island,  and 
stayed  there  three  or  tour  days.  The  Famous  Voyage  would 
lead  the  reader  to  suppose,  that  after  leaving  the  Bay  of  Se- 
vering  of  Friends,  the  Fli/abcth  and  Golden  Hind  were  driven 
in  comf)any  to  57^  '20'  south  ;  but  it  is  altogether  contrary  to 
probability  that  Clift'e  should  have  'nutted  the  fact  of  the  Eli- 
zabeth liaving  been  in  company  with  Drake  when  he  disco- 
vered the  southernmost  point  of  land,  had  such  been  the  case. 
The  author  of  the  Famous  Voyage  has  evidently  mixed  up  the 
events  of  the  gale  in  the  month  of  S(>ptember  with  those  of 
the  storm  after  the  8th  of  October.     This  is  a  very  striking 


li' 


'  i,t 


i. 


41    i 


r 


38 


FLETCIIEll  S    MANUSCRIPT. 


u 


.*      ( 


.■  1 

.:||f| 

' '  :■  > 
'»  '•  ' 

;  ■  ( 

■■  ■■  i 

i 

i:  . 


r 


instance  of  the  truth  of  Captain  W.  Burney's  remark,  "  that 
the  author  of  the  Famous  Voyage  seems  purposely,  on  some 
occasions,  to  introduce  confusion  as  a  cloak  for  ignorance." 

Again,  the  World  Encompassed  mentions  that  Drake  was 
badly  wounded  in  the  face  with  an  arrow  by  the  natives  in 
the  island  of  Mocha,  about  which  the  Famous  Voyage  is  alto- 
gether silent,  but  Nuno  da  Silva  confirms  this  statement. 
Other  instances  might  be  cited  to  the  like  purport. 

Mr.  Greenhow,  at  the  end  of  his  note  already  cited,  says, 
"  The  journal,  or  supposed  journal  of  Fletcher,  remains  in 
MS.  in  the  British  Museum,  and  from  it  were  derived  the 
false  statements  above  mentioned,  according  to  Barrow,  who 
consulted  it."  Mr.  Greenhow  has  nowhere  particularised 
what  these  false  statements  are,  unless  he  means  that  the 
statements  are  false  which  are  at  variance  with  the  Famous 
Voyage.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  such  a  view  assumes 
the  whole  point  at  issue  between  the  two  narratives  to  be  de- 
cided  upon  internal  evidence  in  favour  of  the  Famous  Voyage, 
which  a  careful  examination  of  the  two  accounts  will  not 
justify. 

But  it  is  incorrect  to  refer  to  Fletcher's  journal,  as  the 
source  of  the  assumed  false  statements  in  the  World  Encom- 
passed. The  manuscript  to  which  Captain  James  Burney 
refers,  in  his  Voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  round  the  world, 
as  "  the  manuscript  relation  of  Francis  Fletcher,  minister,  in 
the  British  Museum,"  forms  a  part  of  the  Sloane  Collection, 
in  which  there  is  likewise  a  manuscript  of  Drake's  previous 
expedition  to  Nombre  de  Dios.  It  is  not,  however,  properly 
speaking,  a  MS.  of  Fletcher's,  but  a  MS.  copy  of  Fletcher's 
MS.  It  bears  upon  the  fly-leaf  the  words,  "  e  libris  Joh. 
Conyers,  Pharmacopolist, — Memorandum,  Hakluyt's  Voyages 
of  Fletcher."  Its  title  runs  thus :  The  First  Part  of  the  Se- 
cond Voyage  about  the  World,  attempted,  contrived,  and  hap. 
pily  accomplished,  to  wit,  in  the  time  of  three  years,  by  Mr. 
Francis  Drake,  at  her  Highncss's  command,  and  his  company : 
written  and  faithfully  laid  down  by  Ffrancis  Ffletcher,  Minis- 
ter of  Christ,  and  Presbyter  of  the  Gospel,  adventurer  and 
traveller  in  the  same  voyage."  On  the  second  page  is  a  map 
of  Er.gland,  and  above  it  these  words  :  "  This  is  a  map  of 
England,  an  exact  copy  of  the  original  to  a  hair  ;  that  done 
by  Mr.  Ffrancis  Ffletcher,  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  time  ;  it  is 
copied  by  Jo.  Conyers,  citizen  and  apothecary  of  London,  to- 
gether  with  the  rest*  and  by  the  same  hand,  as  foUowi." 


LOSS    OF   THE    MARIGOLD. 


30 


on  some 


time  :  it  is 


The  work  appears  to  have  been  very  carefully  executed  by 
Conyera,  and  is  illustrated  with  rude  maps  and  drawings  of 
plants,  boats,  instruments  of  music  and  warfare,  strange  ani- 
mals, such  as  the  Vitulus  marinus  and  others,  which  are 
referred  to  in  the  text  of  the  MS.,  opposite  to  which  they  are 
generally  depicted,  and  each  is  specially  vouched  to  bo  a  faith- 
ful copy  of  Fletcher's  MS. 

There  is  no  date  assigned  to  Fletcher's  own  MS.,  but  wo 
might  fairly  be  warranted  in  referring  it  to  a  period  almost 
immediately  subsequent  to  the  happy  accomplishment  of  the 
voyage,  from  the  leader  of  the  company  being  spoken  of  as 
"  Mr.  Francis  Drdke."  The  Golden  Hind  reached  England 
in  November,  15S0,  and  Drake  was  knighted  by  Queen  Eli- 
zabeth  in  April,  1581;  there  was  then  an  interval  of  four 
months,  during  which  the  circumstances  of  his  voyage  and  his 
conduct  were  under  the  consideration  of  the  Queen's  Council, 
and  Fletcher  may  have  completed  his  journal  before  their 
favourable  decision  led  to  Drake's  receiving  the  honour  of 
knighthood.  On  comparing  the  World  Encompassed  with 
this  MS.,  it  will  be  found  that  most  of  the  speculations,  dis- 
cussions, and  fine  writing  in  the  World  Encompassed  have 
emanated  from  the  nephew  of  the  hero,  or  whoever  may  have 
been  the  compiler  of  the  work,  and  have  not  been  derived 
from  this  MS.,  which  is  written  in  rather  a  sober  style,  and 
is  much  less  diffuse  than  might  reasonably  be  expected. 
Fletcher's  imagination  seems  certainly  to  have  been  much 
affected  by  the  giant  stature  of  the  Patagonians,  and  by  the 
terrible  tempest  which  dispersed  the  fleet  after  it  had  cleared 
the  Straits  of  Magellan.  In  respect  to  the  Patagonians,  Clifl'e, 
it  must  be  allowed,  says,  they  were  "of  a  mean  stature,  well 
limbed,  and  of  a  duskish  tawnie  or  browne  colour."  On  the 
other  hand,  Nuno  da  Silva  says,  they  were  "  a  subtle,  great, 
and  well-formed  people,  and  strong  and  high  of  stature." 
Whichever  of  the  two  accounts  be  the  more  correct,  this  cir- 
cumstance is  certain,  that  four  of  the  natives  beat  back  six  of 
Drake's  sailors,  and  slew  with  their  arrows  two  of  them,  the 
one  an  Englishman,  and  the  other  a  Netherlander,  so  that 
they  could  be  no  mean  antagonists.  In  respect  to  the  tempest, 
the  events  of  it  must  have  with  reason  fixed  themselves  deep 
into  Fletcher's  memory,  for  ho  writes  in  his  journal,  "  About 
Avhich  time  the  storm  being  so  outrageous  and  furious,  the 
barke  Marigold,  wherein  Edward  Bright,  one  of  the  accusers 
of  Thomas  Doughty,  was  captain,  wi!h  28  souls,  was  swal. 


m 


i«t  i 


h 


: 


40 


-•n'o 


NORTHERN    LIMIT    OF    DilAKE  S    VOYAGE. 


1    u 


,j 


:XI        I' 

i  ■  ! 


lowed  up,  which  chanced  in  the  second  watch  of  the  night, 
wherein  myself  and  John  Brewer,  our  trumpeter,  being  watch, 
did  hear  their  fearful  cries  continued  without  hope,  (S^c." 

There  is  a  greater  discrepancy  between  the  Famous  Voy- 
age and  the  World  Encompassed,  as  to  the  furthest  limit  of 
Drake's  expedition  to  the  north  of  the  equator,  than,  as  already 
shown,  in  regard  to  the  southern  limit.  We  have  here,  un- 
fortunately, no  independent  narrative  to  appeal  to  in  support 
of  either  statement,  as  the  Portuguese  pilot  was  dismissed  by 
Drake  at  Guatulco,  and  did  not  accompany  him  further. 
Hakluyt  himself  docs  not  follow  the  same  version  of  the  story 
in  the  two  editions  of  his  narrative.  In  the  Famous  Voyage, 
as  interpolated  in  the  edition  of  1589,  he  gives  55^°  south, 
as  the  furthest  limit  southward  ;  but  in  the  edition  of  1600, 
he  gives  57^°  ;  in  a  similar  manner  we  find  42°  north,  as 
the  highest  northern  limit  mentioned  in  the  edition  of  1589, 
whilst  in  that  of  1600  it  is  extended  to  43°.  Hakluyt  thus 
seems  to  have  found  that  his  earlier  information  was  not  to  be 
implicitly  relied  upon,  but  we  have  no  clew  to  the  fresh 
sources  to  which  he  had  at  a  later  period  found  access.  The 
World  Encompassed,  on  the  other  hand,  continues  Drake's 
course  up  to  the  48th  parallel  of  north  latitude.  The  two 
narratives,  however,  do  not  appear  to  be  altogether  irrccon- 
cileable.  In  the  Famous  Voyage,  as  amended  in  the  edition 
of  1600,  we  have  this  statement: — "  Wc  ♦herefore  set  sail, 
and  sayled  (in  longitude)  600  leagues  a,\.  least  for  a  good 
winde,  and  thus  much  we  sayled  from  the  16  of  April  till  the 
3  of  June.  The  5  day  of  June,  being  in  43  degrees  towards 
the  pole  arcticke,  we  found  the  ayre  so  coldo  that  our  men, 
being  greevously  pinched  with  the  same,  complained  of  the 
extremitie  thereof,  and  the  furlher  vc  n-ent,  llie  more  the  cold 
increased  iqwn  7fs.  Whereupon  we  thought  it  best  for  that 
time  to  seek  the  land,  and  did  so,  finding  it  not  mountainous, 
but  low  plaine  land,  till  we  came  within  3S  degrees  towards 
the  line.  In  which  height  it  pleased  God  to  send  us  into  a 
faire  and  good  baye,  with  a  good  winde  to  enter  the  same." 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  account,  that  it  was  in  the  43d, 
or,  as  in  the  earlier  edition  of  1589,  the  42d  parallel  of  north 
lat.,  that  the  cold  was  first  folt  so  intensely  l)y  Drake's  crew, 
and  that  the  further  they  went,  the  more  the  cold  increased 
upon  them  ;  so  that  from  the  latter  passage  it  may  be  inferred 
that  they  did  not  discontinue  their  course  at  once  as  soon  as 
they  reached  the  43d  parallel. 


MB.    GREEMIOW  8    OBJECTIONS. 


41 


It  appears,  likewise,  that  Drake,  from  the  nature  of  the 
wind,  was  obliged  to  gain  a  considerable  offing,  before  he 
could  stand  towards  the  northward  :  600  leagues  in  lonirilude, 
according  to  the  first  edition  (the  second  edition  omitting  the 
words  '  in  longitude,')  which  does  not  differ  much  from  the 
World  Encompassed.  The  latter  states—"  From  Guatulco, 
or  Aquatulco,  we  departed  the  day  following,  viz.,  April  16, 
setting  our  course  directly  into  the  sea,  whereupon  we  sailed 
600  leagues  in  longitude  to  get  a  wind  :  and  between  that  and 
June  3,  1400  leagues  in  all,  till  we  came  into  42  degrees  of 
latitude,  where  the  night  following  we  found  such  an  alterna- 
tion of  heat  into  extreme  and  nipping  cold,  that  our  men  in 
general  did  grievously  complain  thereof." 

The  cold  seems  to  have  increased  to  that  extremity  that, 
in  sailing  two  degrees  further  north,  the  ropes  and  tackling 
of  the  ship  were  quite  stiffened.  The  crew  became  much 
disheartened,  but  Drake  encouraged  them,  so  that  they  re- 
solved to  endure  the  uttermost.  On  the  5th  of  June  they  were 
forced  by  contrary  winds  to  run  into  an  ill-sheltered  bay, 
where  they  were  enveloped  in  thick  fogs,  and  the  cold  be- 
coming still  more  severe,  "  commanded  them  to  the  south- 
ward  whether  they  would  or  no."  "  From  the  height  of  48 
degrees,  in  which  now  we  were,  to  3S,  we  found  the  land  by 
coasting  along  it  to  be  but  low  and  reasonable  plain  :  every 
hill,  (whereof  we  saw  many,  but  none  very  high,  (though  it 
were  in  June,  and  the  sun  in  his  nearest  approach  to  them, 
being  covered  with  snow.  In  38°  30'  we  fell  in  with  a  con- 
venient  and  fit  harbour,  and  June  17th  came  to  anchor  therein, 
where  we  continued  until  the  23d  day  of  July  following." 

The  writer  of  this  account,  in  another  paragraph,  confirms 
the  above  statement  by  saying,  "add  to  this,  that  though  we 
searched  the  coast  diligently,  even  unto  48°,  yet  we  found 
not  the  land  to  trend  so  much  as  one  point  in  any  place  to- 
wards the  East,  but  rather  running  on  continually  north-west, 
as  if  it  went  directly  into  Asia." 

Mr.  Greenhow  is  disposed  to  reject  the  statement  of  the 
World  Encompassed,  for  two  reasons  :  first,  ])ecause  it  is  im- 
probable  that  a  vessel  like  Drake's  could  have  sailed  through 
six  degrees  of  latitude  from  the  .3d  to  the  5th  of  June  ;  se- 
condly, because  it  is  impossible  that  such  intense  cold  could 
be  experienced  in  that  part  of  the  Pacific  in  the  month  of 
.Tune,  as  is  implied  by  the  circumstances  narrated,  and  there- 
fore they  must  bo  "direct  falsehoods." 


I 


ii| 


i 


3 


M  - 


I  H 


ti': 


I  ■  * 


42 


INTENSE    COLD. 


i    ' 


iliffllM! 


m 


The  first  objection  has  certainly  some  reason  in  it ;  but  in 
rejecting  the  World  l^^ncompassed,  Mr.  Greenhow  adopts  the 
Famous  Voyage  as  the  true  narrative,  so  that  it  becomes  ne- 
cessary to  see  whether  Hakluyt's  account  is  not  exposed  to 
objections  equally  grave. 

Hakluyt  agrees  with  the  authorof  the  World  Encompassed, 
in  dating  Drake's  arrival  at  a  convenient  harbour  on  June 
17, — (Hakluyt  gives  this  date  in  vol.  iii.,  p.  624,) — so  that 
Drake  would  have  consumed  twelve  days  in  running  back 
three  and  a  half  degrees,  according  to  one  version  of  the  Fa- 
mous Voyage,  and  four  and  a  half  degrees  according  to  the 
other,  before  a  wind  which  was  so  violent  that  he  could  not 
continue  to  beat  against  it.  There  is  no  doubt  about  the  sit- 
uation of  the  port  where  Drake  took  shelter,  at  least  within 
half  a  degree,  that  it  was  either  the  Port  de  la  Bodega,  in  38° 
28',  as  some  have  with  good  reason  supposed,  (Maurelle's 
Journal,  p.  626,  in  Barrington's  Miscellanies,)  or  the  Port  de 
los  Reyes,  situated  between  La  Bodega  and  Port  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  about  38°,  as  the  Spaniards  assert ;  and  there  is  no 
difference  in  the  two  stories  in  respect  to  the  interval  which 
elapsed  after  Drake  turned  back,  until  he  reached  the  port. 
There  is,  therefore,  the  improbability  of  Drake's  vessel,  ac- 
cording to  Hakluyt,  making  so  little  way  in  so  long  a  time 
before  a  wind,  to  be  set  ofi'  against  the  improbability  of  its 
making,  according  to  the  World  Encompassed,  so  much  way 
in  so  short  a  time  on  a  wind,  the  wind  blowing  undoubtedly 
all  this  time  very  violently  from  the  north-west.  Many  persons 
may  be  di?^ posed  to  think  that  the  two  improbabilities  balance 
each  other. 

In  respect  to  the  intense  cold,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  Famous  Voyage,  equally  with  the  World  Encompassed, 
refers  to  the  great  extremity  of  the  cold  as  the  cause  of  Drake's 
drawing  back  again  till  he  reached  38°.  There  can,  there- 
fore, be  no  doubt  that  Drake  did  turn  back  on  account  of  his 
men  being  unable  to  bear  up  against  the  cold,  after  having 
so  lately  come  out  of  the  extreme  heat  of  the  tropics.  Is  it 
more  probable  that  this  intense  cold  should  have  been  expe- 
rienced in  the  higher  or  the  lower  latitude  ?  for  the  intense 
cold  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  fact.  Drake  seems  to  have 
been  exposed  to  one  of  those  severe  winds  termed  Northers, 
which  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer,  bringdown  the  atmo- 
sphere, even  at  New  Orleans  and  Mexico,  to  the  temperature 
of  winter  ;  but  without  seeking  to  account  for  the  cold,  as  that 


.^ 


v«. 


STOW,    THE    ANNALIST. 


43 


would  1)0  foreign  to  the  present  inquiry,  the  fact,  to  whatever 
extent  it  be  adinitted,  would  rather  support  the  statement  that 
Drake  reached  the  4Sth  parallel,  than  that  he  was  constrained 
to  turn  back  at  the  lower  latitude  of  43°. 

It  may  likewise  be  observed  that  the  description  of  the 
coast,  "  as  trending  continually  north-westward,  as  if  it  went 
directly  into  Asia,"  would  correspond  with  the  48th  parallel, 
but  be  altogether  at  variance  with  the  43d  ;  and  it  is  admit, 
ted  by  all,  that  Drake's  object  was  to  discover  a  passage  from 
the  western  to  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America.  His 
therefore  finding  the  land  not  to  trend  so  much  as  one  point 
to  the  east,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  the  westward,  whilst  it 
fully  accounts  for  his  changing  his  course,  determines  also 
where  he  decided  to  return.  It  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  statement  in  the  World  Encompassed,  that  the  coast 
trended  to  the  westward  in  48°,  was  in  contradiction  of  the 
popular  opinion  regarding  the  supposed  Straits  of  Anian,  and 
if  it  were  not  the  fact,  the  author  hazarded,  without  an  ade- 
quate object,  the  rejection  of  this  part  of  his  narrative,  and 
unavoidably  detracted  from  his  own  character  for  veracity. 

We  have,  however,  two  cotemporaries  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  who  confirm  the  statement  of  the  World  Encompassed. 
One  of  these  has  been  strangely  overlooked  by  Mr.  Green- 
how  ;  namely.  Stow  the  annalist,  who,  under  the  year  1580, 
gives  an  account  of  the  return  of  Master  Francis  Drake  to 
England,  from  his  voyage  round  the  world.  "  He  passed," 
he  says,  "  forth  northward,  till  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  forty- 
seven,  thinking  to  have  come  that  way  home,  but  being  con- 
strained by  fogs  and  cold  winds  to  forsake  his  purpose,  came 
backward  to  the  line  ward  the  tenth  of  June,  1579,  and  stayed 
in  the  latitude  of  thirty-eight,  to  grave  and  trim  his  ship,  until 
the  five-and-twenty  of  July."  This  is  evidently  an  account 
derived  from  sources  quite  distinct  from  those  of  either  of  the 
other  two  narratives.  It  occurs  as  early  as  1592,  in  an  edition 
of  the  Annals  which  is  in  the  Bodleian  Library  at  Oxford,  so 
that  it  was  circulated  two  years  at  least  before  Drake's  death. 
The  other  authority  is  that  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
navigators  of  Drake's  age,  John  Davis,  of  Sandrug  by  Dart- 
mouth, who  was  the  author  of  a  work  entitled  "The  World's 
Hydrographical  Discovery."  It  was  "  imprinted  at  London, 
by  Thomas  Dawson,  dwelling  at  the  Three  Cranes  in  the 
Vine-tree,  in  1595,"  and  may  be  found  most  readily  in  the 
4th  volume  of  the  last  edition  of  Hakluyt's  Voyages.     After 


[ 

I;' 


i'l 


ii 


;  '1 


li 


i^ 


I  I 


T 

'  .1 

■    \ 
'  i 


44 


JOIIA    DAVIS. 


;h 

••1 

i;     I 

«h! 

i 

:i           i 

^  f 

it  .   ! 


ini 


giving  some  account  of  the  dangers  which  Drake  had  sur- 
mounted in  passing  through  tlie  Straits  of  Magellan,  which 
Davis  had  himself  sailed  through  three  times,  he  proceeds  to 
say,  that  "  after  Sir  Francis  Drake  was  entered  into  the  South 
Seas,  he  coasted  all  the  western  shores  of  America,  until  he 
came  into  the  septentrional  latitude  of  forty-eight  degrees, 
being  on  the  back  side  of  Newfoundland."  Now  Davis  is 
certainly  entitled  to  respectful  attention,  from  his  high  charac- 
ter as  a  navigator.  He  had  made  three  voyages  in  search  of  a 
north-west  passage,  and  had  given  his  name  to  Davis'  Straits, 
as  the  discoverer  of  them  ;  he  had  likewise  been  the  com- 
panion of  Cavendish  in  his  last  voyage  into  the  South  Seas, 
in  1591-93,  when,  having  separated  from  Cavendish,  he  dis- 
covered the  Falkland  islands.  He  was  therefore  highly  com- 
petent  to  form  a  correct  judgment  of  the  value  of  the  accounts 
which  he  had  received  respecting  Drake's  voyage,  nor  was 
he  likely,  as  a  rival  in  the  career  of  maritime  discovery,  to 
exaggerate  the  extent  of  it.  We  find  him,  on  this  occasion, 
deliberately  adopting  the  account  that  Drake  reached  that 
portion  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  which  corres- 
ponded to  Newfoundland  on  the  north-east  coast,  or,  as  he  dis- 
tinctly says,  the  septentrional  latitude  of  48  degrees. 

Davis,  however,  is  not  the  only  naval  authority  of  that  pe- 
riod who  adopted  this  view,  for  Sir  William  Monson,  who  was 
admiral  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  and  James  I.,  and  served 
in  expeditions  against  the  Spaniards  under  Drake,  in  his  in- 
troduction to  Sir  Francis  Drake's  voyage  round  the  world, 
praises  him  because  "  lastly  and  principally  that  after  so  many 
miseries  and  extremities  he  endured,  and  almost  two  years 
spent  in  unpractised  seas,  when  reason  would  have  bid  him 
sought  home  for  his  rest,  he  left  his  known  course,  and  ven- 
tured upon  an  unknown  sea  in  forty-eight  degrees,  which  sea 
or  passage  wo  know  had  been  often  attempted  by  our  seas, 
but  never  discovered."  And  in  his  brief  review  of  Sir  F. 
Drake's  voyage  round  the  world,  he  says :  "  From  the  16th 
of  April  to  the  5th  of  June  he  sailed  without  seeing  land,  and 
arrived  in  forty-eight  degrees,  thinking  to  find  a  passage  into 
our  seas,  which  land  he  named  Albion."  (Sir  W.  Monson's 
Naval  Tracts,  in  Churchill's  Collection  of  Voyages,  vol.  iii., 
pp.  367,  368.) 

Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  75)  says,  that  Davis's  assertion  carries 
with  it  its  own  refutation,  "  as  it  is  nowhere  else  pretended 
that  Drake  saw  any  part  of  the  west  coast  of  America  between 


<M 


il 


MR.    GREEMIOW  S    OBJECTIONS. 


45 


n 


had  siir- 
an,  which 
roceeds  to 
the  South 
I,  until  he 
t  degrees, 
V  Davis  is 
;h  charac- 
earch  of  a 
is'  Straits, 
I  the  com- 
outh  Seas, 
sh,  he  dis- 
ighly  com. 
Q  accounts 
,  nor  was 
covery,  to 
i  occasion, 
iched  that 
3h  corres- 

as  he  dis' 

'  that  pe. 

who  was 

nd  served 

in  his  in< 

le  world, 

r  so  many 

two  years 

e  bid  him 

and  ven. 

which  sea 

our  seas, 

of  Sir  F. 

the  16th 
land,  and 
isage  into 
Monson's 
,  vol,  iii., 

>n  carries 
l)retended 
between 


the  17th  degree  )f  latitude  and  the  38th."  But  surely  Davis 
might  use  tiic  expression,  "  coasted  all  the  western  shores  of 
America,"  without  being  supposed  to  pretend  that  J)rake  kept 
in  sight  of  the  coast  all  the  way.  The  objection  seems  to  be 
rather  verbal  than  substantial.  Again,  Sir  W.  Monson  is 
charged  by  the  same  author  with  inconsistency,  l)ocauso  ho 
speaks  of  C.  Mendocino  as  the  "  furthest  land  discovered," 
and  the  "furthermost  known  land."  But  Sir  W.  Monson  is 
on  this  occasion  discussing  the  probable  advantages  of  a  north- 
west passage  as  a  saving  of  distance,  and  he  is  speaking  of 
C  Mendocino,  as  the  "furthermost  known  part  of  America," 
i.  e.,  the  furthermost  headland  from  which  a  course  might  bo 
measured  to  the  Moluccas,  and  he  is  likewise  referring  espe- 
cially to  the  voyage  of  Francisco  Gali,  so  that  this  objection 
is  more  specious  than  solid.  It  should  likewise  not  bo  for- 
gotten, that  in  the  most  approved  maps  of  that  day,  in  the  last 
edition  of  Ortelius,  for  example,  and  in  that  ofHondius,  which 
is  given  in  Purchas's  Pilgrims,  C.  Mendocino  is  the  northern- 
most point  of  land  of  Norih  America.  It  may  also  not  bo 
amiss  to  remark,  that  in  the  map  which  Mr.  Ilallam  (in  his 
Literature  of  Europe,  vol.  ii.,  c.  viii.,  §  v.)  justly  pronounces  to 
be  the  best  map  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  which  is  one  of 
uncommon  rarity,  Cabo  Mendocino  is  the  last  headland 
marked  upon  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  in  about  43° 
north  latitude.  This  map  is  found  with  a  few  copies  of  the 
edition  of  Ilakluyt  of  1589  :  in  other  copies,  indeed,  there  is 
the  usual  inferior  map,  in  which  C.  Mendocino  is  placed  be- 
tween 50°  and  GO^.  The  work,  however,  in  which  it  has 
been  examined  for  the  present  purpose,  is  Hakluyt's  edition 
of  IGOO,  in  which  it  is  sometimes  found  with  Sir  F.  Drake's 
voyage  traced  out  upon  it  :  but  in  the  copy  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  no  such  voyage  is  observed  ;  whilst  the  line  of  coast 
is  continued  above  C.  Mendocino  and  marked,  in  large  letters, 
"Nova  Albion."  Thus  Hakluyt  himself,  in  adopting  this 
map  as  "a  true  hydrographical  description  of  so  much  of  the 
world  as  hath  been  hitherto  discovered  and  is  common  to  our 
knowledge,"  has  so  far  admitted  that  Nova  Albion  extended 
beyond  the  furthest  land  discovered  by  the  Spaniards.  On 
the  other  hand,  Camden,  in  his  life  of  Elizabeth,  first  pub- 
lished in  1G15,  adopts  the  version  of  the  story  which  Hakluyt 
had  put  forth  in  his  earliest  edition  of  the  Famous  Voyage, 
making  the  southern  limit  55°  south,  and  the  northern  42° 
north,  which  Hakluyt  has  himself  rejected  in  his  later  edition. 


W 


I! 


I'! 


40 


JOHNSON  8    LIFE    OF    DRAKE. 


I*   ' 
.1   ! 


■]  , 


i? 


ililii 


I, 


11 

j!    ■!  1  i 

1 

i 

h 

M 

..■: 

There  c?.n  be  little  doubt  that  Camden's  account  bears  inter- 
nal evidence  of  having  been  copied  in  the  main  from  Ilakluyt. 
Purchas,  as  we  may  gather  from  his  work,  merely  followed 
Ilakluyt. 

In  addition  to  these,  Mr.  Greenhow  enumerates  several 
comparatively  recent  authors  as  adopting  Hakluyt's  opinion. 
Of  these,  perhaps  Dr.  Johnson  has  the  greatest  renown.  He 
published  a  life  of  Drake  in  parts,  in  five  numbers  of  the  Gen- 
tleman's Magazine  for  1740-41.  It  was,  however,  amongst 
his  earliest  contributions,  when  he  was  little  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age,  and  therefore  is  not  enti  led  to  all  the  weight 
which  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Johnson  at  a  later  period  of  life  might 
carry  with  it.  But  as  it  is,  the  passage,  as  it  stands  at  pre- 
sent, seems  to  involve  a  clerical  error.  "From  Guatulco, 
which  lies  in  15°  40',  they  stood  out  to  sea,  and  without  ap- 
proaching any  land,  sailed  forward  till  on  the  night  following 
the  3d  of  J  une,  being  then  in  the  latitude  of  38°,  they  were 
suddenly  benumbed  with  such  cold  blasts  that  they  were 
scarcely  able  to  handle  the  ropes.  This  cold  increased  upon 
them,  as  they  proceeded,  to  such  a  degree  that  the  sailors 
were  discouraged  from  mounting  upon  deck  ;  nor  w'ere  the 
effects  of  the  climate  to  be  imputed  to  the  warmth  of  the  re- 
gions to  which  they  had  been  lately  accustomed,  for  the  ropes 
were  stiflT  with  frost,  and  the  moat  could  scarcely  be  conveyed 
warm  to  the  table.  On  June  17th  they  came  to  anchor  in  38° 
30'." 

In  the  original  paper,  as  published  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine  for  January,  1741,  Dr.  Johnson  writes  38°  in  num- 
bers as  the  parallel  of  latitude  where  the  cold  was  felt  so 
acutely.  This  would  be  in  a  far  lower  latitude  than  what  any 
of  the  accounts  of  Drake's  own  time  gives  ;  so  that  it  may  for 
that  reason  alone  be  suspected  to  be  an  error  of  the  press, 
more  particularly  as  Drake  is  made  ultimately  to  anchor  in 
33°  30',  a  higher  latitude  than  that  in  which  his  crew  were 
benumbed  with  the  cold.  We  must  either  suppose  that  Dr. 
Johnson  entirely  misunderstood  the  narrative,  and  intention- 
ally represented  Drake  as  continuing  his  voyage  northward 
in  spite  of  the  cold,  and  anchoring  in  a  higher  latitude  than 
where  his  men  were  so  much  discouraged  by  its  severity,  or 
that  there  is  a  typographical  error  in  the  figures.  The  latter 
seems  to  be  the  more  probable  alternative  ;  and  if,  in  order 
to  correct  this  error,  we  may  reasonably  have  recourse  to  the 
authority  from  which  ho  derived  his  information  as  to  the  lati- 


1-1 


irs  intcr- 
Hakluyt. 
followed 

1  several 
opinion, 
vn.  He 
the  Gen- 
aniongst 
lan  thirty 
e  weight 
life  might 
Is  at  pre- 
GJuatulco, 
ithout  ap- 
following 
hey  were 
ley  were 
Lsed  upon 
te  sailors 
w'ere  the 
f  the  re- 
the  ropes 
conveyed 
or  in  38° 

itleman's 

in  nurn- 
felt  so 

^hat  any 

may  for 

le    press, 

Inchor  in 

iw  were 

that  Dr. 
Intention- 

)rthward 

e  than 

r'erity,  or 

the  latter 

in  order 
[se  to  the 

the  lati- 


"ii 
■•'■t 


f 


% 


MARCIIANU  S   VOYACr. 


47 


tude  of  the  port  where  Drake  cast  anchor,  it  is  to  the  World 
Encompassed,  and  not  to  the  Famous  Voyage,  that  we  must 
refer ;  for  it  is  the  World  Encompassed  which  gives  us  138^ 
30'  us  the  latitude  of  tiio  convenient  and  lit  harbour,  wiiercas 
the  Famous  \'oyagc  sends  Drake  into  a  fair  and  good  bay  in 
38.° 

The  dispute  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain  respecting 
the  fur  trade  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  having 
awakened  the  attention  of  the  European  powers  to  the  value 
of  discoveries  in  that  quarter,  a  French  expedition  was  in  con- 
seciuencc  despatched  in  1790,  under  Captain  Etienne  Mar- 
chand,  who,  after  examining  some  parts  of  the  north-west 
coast  of  America,  concluded  the  circunmavigation  of  the  globe 
in  179'i.  Fleurieu,  the  French  hydrographer,  published  a 
fidl  account  of  Marchand's  Voyage,  to  which  he  prefaced  an 
introduction,  read  before  the  French  Institute  in  July,  1797. 
In  this  introduction  he  reviews  briefly  the  course  of  maritime 
discovery  in  these  parts,  and  states  his  opinion,  without  any 
qualification,  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  made  the  land  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  in  the  latitude  of  48  degrees, 
which  no  Spanish  navigator  had  yet  reached.  Mr.  Green- 
how  (p.  2'23)  speaks  highly  of  Flcurieu's  work,  though  he 
considers  him  to  have  been  careless  in  the  examination  of  his 
authorities.  He  observes,  that  "his  devotion  to  his  own  coun- 
try, and  his  contempt  for  the  Spaniards  and  their  government, 
led  him  frequently  to  make  assertions  and  ol)servations  at 
variance  with  truth  and  justice."  It  may  be  added,  that  at 
the  time  when  ho  composed  his  introduction,  the  relations  of 
France  and  Great  Britain  were  not  of  a  kind  to  dispose  him 
to  favour  unduly  the  claims  of  British  navigators. 

The  same  train  of  events  which  terminated  in  the  Nootka 
Convention,  led  to  a  Spanish  expedition  under  Galiano  and 
Valdes,  of  which  an  account  was  published,  by  order  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  at  Madrid,  in  1802.  The  introduction  to  it 
comprises  a  review  of  all  the  Spanish  voyages  of  discovery 
along  the  north-west  coast,  in  the  course  of  which  it  is  ob- 
served, that,  from  want  of  sufficient  information  in  Spanish 
history,  certain  foreign  writers  had  undervalued  the  merit  of 
Cabrillo,  by  assigning  to  Drake  the  discovery  of  the  coast 
between  38°  and  48°  ;  whereas,  thirty-six  years  before 
Drake's  appearance  on  that  coast,  Cabrillo  had  discovered 
it  between  38°  and  43°.  A  note  appended  to  this  passage 
states  :— "The  true  glory  which  the  English  navigator  may 


r! 


.  rl 


M 


ft' 

i  I 


?!'; 


f.i 


ii-  ■  1 


"'°  ■; !  ■ ' 


46 


HUMBOLDT  8    NEW    SPAIN. 


Ill   :  • ' 

til  :i 


claim  for  himself  is  the  having  discovered  the  portion  of  coast 
comprehended  between  the  parallels  of  43^  and  4^:^^ ;  to  which, 
consequently,  the  denomination  of  New  Albion  ought  to  be 
limited,  without  interfering  with  the  discoveries  of  preceding 
navigators."  (Relacion  del  Viago  hecho  por  las  Goletas 
Sutil  y  Mexicana  en  el  ano  de  1792.  Introduccion,  pp.  xxxv. 
xxxvi.) 

To  the  same  purport,  Alexander  von  Humboldt,  in  his  Essai 
Politique  sur  la  Nouvelle  Espagne,  says  : — "  D'apros  des  don- 
nfees  historiques  certaines,la  denomination  de  Nouvelle  Albion 
devrait  etre  restreinte  a  la  partie  do  la  c6te  qui  s'etend  depuis 
les  43''  aux  48°,  ou  du  Cap  de  Martin  de  Aguilar,  a  I'entree 
de  Juan  de  Fuca,"  (1.  iii.,  c.  viii.)  And  in  another  passage  : 
"  On  trouve  que  FranCiSco  Gali  c6toya  une  partie  de  I'Archi- 
pel  du  Prince  de  Galles  ou  celui  du  Roi  George  (en  1582.) 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  en  1578,  n'etait  parvenu  que  jusqu'aux 
48*^  de  latitude  au  nord  du  cap  Grenville,  dans  la  Nouvelle 
Georgie." 

The  question  of  the  northern  limits  of  Drake's  expedition 
has  been  rather  fully  entered  into  on  this  occasion,  because  it 
is  apprehended  that  Drake's  visit  constituted  a  discovery  of 
that  portion  of  the  coast  which  was  to  the  north  of  the  furthest 
headland  which  Ferrelo  reached  in  1543,  whether  that 
headland  were  Cape  Mendocino,  or  Cape  Blanco ;  and  be- 
cause Mr.  Greenhow,  in  the  preface  to  the  second  edition  of 
his  History  of  Oregon  and  California,  observes,  that  in  the 
accounts  and  views  there  presented  of  Drake's  visit  to  the 
north-west  coast,  a'!  who  had  criticised  his  work  were  silent, 
or  carefully  omitted  to  notice  the  principal  arguments  ad- 
duced by  the  author.  We  ma/  conclude  with  observing,  that 
on  reviewing  the  evidence  it  will  be  seen,  that  in  favour  of 
the  higher  latitude  of  48°  we  have  a  wall  authenticated  ac- 
count drawn  up  by  the  nephew  of  Sir  Francis  Drake  himself, 
from  the  notes  of  several  persons  who  went  the  voyage,  con- 
firmed by  independent  statements  in  two  contemporary  wri- 
ters. Stow  the  annalist,  and  Davis  the  navigator,  and  sup- 
ported by  the  authority  of  Sir  W.  Monson,  who  served  with 
Drake  in  the  Spanish  wars  after  his  return  ;  and  on  this  side 
we  find  ranked  the  influential  judgment  of  the  ablest  modern 
writers  who  have  given  their  attention  to  the  subject,  such  as 
the  distinguished  French  hydrographer  Fleurieu,  the  able  author 
of  the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana, 
published  by  the  authority  of  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  learned 


EVIDENCE  AS  TO  THE  LIMIT  OF  DRAKe's  EXI'EDITIOX.      4D 

and  laborious  Alexander  von  Humboldt.  On  the  opposite  sido 
stands  HaUiuyt,  and  llakluyt  alone  ;  for  Camden  and  Pur- 
clias  both  followed  Ilakluyt  implicitly,  and  though  they  may 
be  considered  to  opj^rove,  they  do  not  in  any  way  confirm  his 
account ;  while  Ilakluyt  himself  has  nowhere  disclosed  his 
sources  of  information,  and  by  the  variation  of  the  two  editions 
of  his  vork  in  the  two  most  important  facts  of  the  whole  voy- 
age, namely,  the  extreme  limits  southward  and  northward 
respectively  of  Drake's  expedition,  he  has  indirectly  mado 
evident  the  doubtful  character  of  the  information  on  which  ho 
relied,  and  has  himself  abandoned  the  version  of  the  story, 
which  Camden  and  the  author  of  the  Vie  de  Drach,  have 
adopted  upon  his  authority. 


HI 


m 


,  \ 


Ill 


60 


I 


N 


CHAPTER  III. 


I  , 


ON  THE   DISCOVKRY   OF   TIIK   NORTH-WEST   COAST   OF 

AMERICA. 

The  Voyage  of  Francisco  dc  Guallc,  or  Giili,  in  1584. — Of  Viscaino,  in 
in  1598. — River  of  Murtin  d'Ajruilar. — Cessation  of  Sj)anish  Enterpri- 
BCB. — Jesuit  Missions  in  California  in  the  ISth  centurj. — Voyapc  of 
llrhrinfj  and  TchiricofFin  1741. — Presidios  in  Upper  California. — Voy. 
age  of  Juan  Perez  in  1774  ;  of  Hcceta  and  de  lu  Bodega  in  1775. — 
Ilecetu's  Inlet. — Port  fliicareli. — Bay  of  Bodega. — Hearne's  Journey  tu 
the  Coppermine  River. — Captain  James  Cook  in  1776. — Russian  Eslab- 
lishments,  in  1783,  as  fur  as  Prince  William's  Sound  ;  in  1787,  as  far 
as  Mount  Elias, — llxpeditions  from  Macao,  vmder  the  Portuguese  flag, 
in  1785  and  178G  ;  under  tliat  of  the  British  East  India  Company  in 
1786. — Voyage  of  La  Perousc  in  1786. — King  George's  Sound  Com- 
pany. — Portland  and  Dixon,  in  1786. — Meures  and  Tipping,  in  1786, 
under  Flag  of  East  India  Company. — Duncan  and  Colnett  in  1787. — 
Captain  Barclay  discovers  in  1787  the  Straits  in  48°  30',  to  whicli 
Meares  g-vca  the  nainc  of  Juan  de  Fuca  in  1788. — Prince  of  Wales's 
Archipelago.— Gray  and  Kcndrick. 

The  Spaniards  bad  long  coveted  a  position  in  the  East  Indies, 
but  the  Bull  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  precluded  them  from  sail- 
ing eastward  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ;  they  had,  in 
consequence,  made  many  attempts  to  find  their  way  thither 
across  the  Pacific.  It  was  not,  however,  till  1564,  that  they 
succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  in  the  Philippine  Isl- 
ands. Thenceforth  Spanish  galleons  sailed  annually  from 
Acapulco  to  Manilla,  and  back  by  Macao.  The  trade  winds 
wafted  them  directly  across  from  New  Spain  in  about  three 
months  :  on  their  return  they  occupied  about  double  that  time, 
and  generally  reached  up  into  a  northerly  latitude,  in  order  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  prevailing  north-westers,  which  carried 
them  to  the  shores  of  California. 

An  expedition  of  this  kind  is  the  next  historical  record  of 
voyages  on  this  coast,  after  Drake's  visit.  Hakluyt  has  pub- 
lished the  navigator's  own  account  of  it  in  his  edition  of  IGOO, 
as  the  "True  and  perfect  Description  of  a  Voyage  performed 
and  done  by  Francisco  de  Gualle,  a  Spanish  Captain  and 
Pilot,  iScc.,  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1584."    It  purports  to 


LIXDSCIIOTEN. 


61 


COAST   OF 


f  Viscaino,  in 
mish  Entorpri- 
J- — Voyape  of 
lifornia. — Voy. 
[ja  in   1775.-- 
le's  Joiimoy  tc 
fussiau  Estab. 
II  1787,  as  far 
•rtupucse  flapr, 
a  Company  in 
Sound  Com. 
•injr,  in  17»6, 
■tt  in  1787.— 
30',  to  which 
;c  of  Wales's 


^ast  Indies, 
»  from  sail- 
'J  liad,   in 
ay  thither 
,  that  they 
ippine  Isl- 
lally  from 
ade  winds 
)out  three 
that  time, 
ti  order  to 
ch  carried 

record  of 
has  pub- 
lof  IGOO, 
erformed 
tain  and 
irports  to 


have  boon  translated  out  of  the  ori;,Miial  S[)anisli,  vorliatiin, 
into  liow  Dutch,  by  J.  II.  van  Liiidschoton  ;  and  thonco  into 
Kn;j;Ii.sh  by  Ilakluyt.  Aoooalinn;  to  this  vtM'sion  of  it,  GikiMo, 
on  IjIs  return  from  .'Macao,  njade  tho  coast  of  New  Spain 
"under  scven-and-thirty  (K'greos  and  a  half."  The  author  of 
the  '*  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  (Jaliano  and  \'ahles"  has 
substii'.'ted  57^  for  JH.]  degrees  in  (Jualle's,  or  rather  (iali's, 
account,  i^ithout  stating  any  reason  for  it.  Mr.  Greeniiow, 
indeed,  rofeis  to  a  note  of  that  author's,  as  intimating  that  ho 
relied  upon  the  evidence  of  papers  found  in  tiio  archives  of 
tho  Indies,  l)rt  on  examining  the  note  in  p.  xlvi.,  it  evidently 
refers  to  twc  letters  from  the  Archbi.shop  of  Mexico,  then 
Viceroy  of  Now  Spain,  to  the  King,  in  reference  to  an  expe- 
dition which  he  proposed  to  intrust  to  Jayme  Juan,  for  the 
discovery  of  the  Straits  of  Anian.  It  is  true  that  the  Arch- 
bishop is  staged  to  have  consulted  CJali  upon  his  project,  but 
the  author  of  the  "Introduction"  specially  alludes  to  Lind- 
schoten,  as  the  person  to  whom  the  account  of  (iali's  Voyage 
in  liyS'2  was  due,  and  refers  to  a  Froiu  h  Translation  of  Lind- 
scholen's  work,  under  the  title  o!  ••  Lo  Grand  Routier  do 
Mer,"  published  at  Amsterdam  in  lOUS.  But  Lindschoten's 
original  work  was  written  in  the  Dutch  language,  being  inti- 
tled  "  Ileysgeschrift  van  de  Navigation  dcr  Poit  igaloysers  in 
Orienten,"  and  was  pidilishcd  towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  and  two  English  translations  of  Gali's  Voyage  im- 
mediately  apj)eared,  one  in  Wolf's  edition  of  Lindschoten,  in 
1598;  the  other  in  the  third  volume  of  Ilakluyt,  159S-1G0O. 
Lindschoten's  own  Dutch  version  was  subsequently  inserted 
in  Witsen's  "Norden  Cost  Tarterye,"  in  1692.  A.'l  these 
latter  accounts,  including  the  original,  agree  in  stating  seven- 
and-thirty  degrees  and  a  half  as  the  latitude  where  Gali  dis- 
covered "a  very  high  and  fair  land,  with  many  trees,  and  wholly 
without  snow."  The  passage  in  the  original  Dutch  may  be 
referred  to  in  Burney's  History  of  Voyages,  vol.  v.,  p.  1G4. 
Tho  French  translation,  however,  which  the  author  of  the 
Introduction  consulted,  gives  57^°,  the  number  being  ex- 
pressed in  figures  ;  but  as  this  seems  to  be  the  only  authority 
lor  the  change,  it  can  hardly  justify  it.  "  A  high  land,"  ob- 
serves Captain  Burney,  "  ornamented  with  trees,  and  entirely 
without  snow,  is  not  inapplicable  to  the  latitude  of  37^°,  but 
would  not  be  credible  if  said  of  the  American  coast  in  57^° 
N.,  though  nothing  were  known  of  the  extraordinary  high 
mountains  which  arc  on  the  western  side  of  America  in  that 


:ii 


•It 


i't 


•  "I 


I! 

.    i  i 


LE    GRAND   KOUTIER    DE    MER. 


ili  ' 


1<  rt         ■  1 


parallel.  It  may  be  observed,  that  the  French  translator  has 
likewise  misstated  the  course  which  Gali  held  in  reaching 
across  from  Japan  to  the  American  coast,  by  rendering  "east 
and  east-by-north "  in  the  original,  as  "east  and  north-east" 
in  the  French  version,  making  a  difference  of  three  points  in 
the  compass,  which  would  take  him  much  farther  north  than 
his  true  course. 

M.  Eyri6s,  in  the  article  "  Gali,"  in  the  Biographic  Uni- 
verselle,  puts  forward  the  same  view  of  the  cause  of  the  varia- 
tion of  the  latitude  in  the  account  adopted  by  the  author  of  the 
Introduction,  namely,  that  it  was  derived  from  the  French 
translation  which  he  consulted.     The  words  in  the  French 
version  of  the  Grand  Iloutier  do  Mer  are  ;  "Estans  venus 
suivant  ce  mesme  cours  pros  de  la  coste  de  la  Nouvelle  Es- 
pagne  a  la  hauteur  de  57  degrez  et  demi,  nous  approchasmes 
d'un  haut  et  fort  beau  pays,  ornc  de  nombre  d'arbres  et  en- 
ticrement  sans  neige."     M.  Eyries,  however,  has  fallen  into 
a  curious  mistake,  as  he  represents  Gali  to  have  made  the 
identical  voyage  which  is  the  subject  of  the  narrative,  in  com- 
pany with  Jayme  Juan,  in  execution  of  the  project  of  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico,  which  was  never  accomplished,  instead 
of  his  having  made  the  account  of  the  voyage  for  him.     That 
M.  Eyries  is  in  error  will  be  evident,  not  merely  from  the  ac- 
count of  the  author  of  thu  Introduction,  if  more  carefully  ex. 
amined,  as  well  as  from  the  title  and  conclusion  of  the  Voyage 
of  Gali  itself,  as  given  in  Hakluyt's  translation  of  the  Dutch 
version  of  Lindschoten ;    but  also  from  this  circumstance, 
which  seems  to  be  conclusive.     M.  de  Contreras,  Archbishop 
of  Mexico,  was  Viceroy  of  New  Spain  for  the  short  sj)ace  of 
one  year  only,  and  the  letters  which  he  wrote  to  the  King  of 
Spain,  submitting  his  project  of  an  expedition  to  explore  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  for  his  Majesty's  approval,  bore 
date  the  22d  January  and  8th  March,  1585.     But  Gali  com- 
menced his  voyage  from  Acapulco  in  March  1582,  and  had  re- 
turned  by  the  year  1584,  most  probably  before  the  Archbishop 
had  entered  upon  his  office  of  Viceroy,  certainly  before  he 
submitted  his  planr    to  the  King,  which  he  had  matured  after 
consultation  with  Gali.     It  is  difficult  to  account  for  M.  Eyries' 
mistake,  unless  it  originated  in  an  imperfect  acquaintance 
with  the  Spanish  language,  as  the  statement  by  the  author  of 
the  Introduction  is  by  no  means  obscure.     Gall's  voyage  was 
thus  a  private  mercantile  enterprise,  and  not  an  expedition 
authorised  and  directed  by  the  Government  of  New  Spain, 


K£'4i*fi^' 


1 


JIARTIN    D  ACUILAR. 


53 


ranslator  has 
in  reaching 
idering  "east 
1  north-east " 
iree  points  in 
r  north  than 

graphie  Uni- 
!  of  the  varia- 
author  of  the 
the  French 
the  French 
Estans  venus 
Vouvelle  Es- 
pprochasmes 
irbres  et  en- 
is  fallen  into 
ve  made  the 
itive,  in  com- 
roject  of  the 
shed,  instead 
him.     That 
from  the  ac- 
larefuUy  ex. 
he  Voyage 
"  the  Dutch 
rcumstance, 
Archbishop 
)rt  sj)ace  of 
le  King  of 
explore  the 
)roval,  bore 
Gali  com- 
and  had  re- 
Archbishop 
before  he 
itured  after 
M.  Eyries' 
:quaintance 
author  of 
voyage  was 
expedition 
ew  Spain, 


V    ?• 


which  the  account  of  M.  Eyries  might  lead  his  reader  to  sup- 
pose. It  has  acquired,  accidentally,  rather  more  importance 
of  late  than  it  substantially  deserves,  from  the  circumstance 
of  its  having  been  cited  in  support  of  the  Spanish  title  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America ;  it  has  consequently  been  thought 
to  merit  a  fuller  examination  on  thi-  present  occasion,  as  to  its 
true  limits  northward,  which  clearly  fall  short  of  those  attained 
by  the  Spaniards  under  Ferrelo,  and  very  far  short  of  those 
reached  by  the  liritish  under  Drake. 

The  next  authentic  expeditions  on  these  coasts  were  those 
conducted  by  Sebastian  Viscaino.  The  growing  rumours  of 
the  discovery  of  the  passage  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
by  the  Straits  of  Anian,  and  the  necessity  of  providing  accu- 
rate charts  for  the  vessels  engaged  in  the  trade  between  New 
Spain  and  the  Philippine  islands,  induced  Philip  II.  to  direct 
an  expedition  to  be  dispatched  from  Acapulco  in  1596,  to  sur- 
vey the  coasts.  Nothing  however  of  importance  was  accom- 
plished  on  this  occasion,  but  on  the  succession  of  Philip  III. 
in  1598,  fresh  orders  were  desp^vtched  to  carry  into  execution 
the  intentions  of  his  predecessor.  Thirty-two  charts,  accord- 
ing to  Humboldt,  prepared  by  Henri  Martinez,  a  celebrated 
engineer,  prove  that  Viscaino  surveyed  these  coasts  with 
unprecedented  care  and  intelligence.  "The  sickness,  how- 
ever, of  his  crew,  the  want  of  provisions,  and  the  extreme 
severity  of  the  season,  prevented  his  advancing  further  north 
than  a  headland  in  the  4!2d  parallel,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  Cape  Sebastian."  The  smallest  of  his  three  vessels, 
however,  conducted  l)y  Martin  d'Aguilar  and  Antonio  Florez, 
doubled  Cape  Mendocino,  and  reached  the  48d  parallel,  where 
they  found  the  mouth  of  a  river  which  Cabrillo  has  been  sup- 
posed by  some  to  have  previously  discovered  in  1543,  and 
which  was  for  some  time  considered  to  bo  the  western  ex- 
tremity of  the  long-sought  Straits  of  Anian.  The  subsequent 
report  of  the  captain  of  a  Manilla  ship,  in  1020,  according  to 
Mr.  Greenhow,  led  the  world  to  adopt  a  diflerent  view,  and 
to  suppose  that  it  was  the  mouth  of  a  |)assage  into  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  Gulf  of  California  ;  and  accordingly,  in  maps 
of  the  later  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  California  was 
represented  to  be  an  island,  of  which  Cape  Blanco  was  the 
northernmost  headland.  After  this  error  had  been  corrected 
by  the  researches  of  the  Jesuit  Kuhn,  in  170  >,  we  find  in  the 
maps  of  the  eighteenth  century,  such  as  that  of  Guillaumo  de 
Lisle,  published  in  Paris  in  1722,  California  a  peninsula,  Capo 


V] 


Ol 


J  1 


it  ^fp 


54 


BEIIRIXO    AND    TCIIIRICOFF. 


i 


i'iiti 


ill 


•P 

I! 


I        , 


i:  I; 


II  I 

I 

I' 


I  h  t 


.     ,  .  hi 


Blanco  a  headland  in  45*,  and  near  it  nr.  irked  "  Entree  dc- 
couvertc  par  d'Ajruilar." 

With  Gali  and  Viscaino  terminates  the  brilliant  period  of 
Spanish  discoveries  along  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 
The  governors  of  New  Spain  dm'ing  the  remainder  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century  and  the  greater  part  of  the  eighteenth,  con- 
fined their  attention  to  securing  the  shores  of  the  peninsula  of 
California  against  the  armed  vessels  of  hostile  Powers,  which, 
after  the  discovery  of  the  passage  round  Cape  Horn  in  1616, 
]>y  the  Dutch  navigators  Lemaire  and  Van  Schouten,  carried 
on  their  depredations  in  the  Pacific  with  increasing  frequency. 
The  country  itself  of  California,  was  in  1697  sul>jected,  by  a 
royal  warrant,  to  an  experimental  process  of  civilisation  at  the 
hands  of  the  Jesuits,  which  their  success  in  Paraguay  em- 
boldened them  to  undertake.  In  about  sixty  years  a  chain  of 
missions  was  established  along  the  whole  eastern  side  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  the  followers  of  Loyola  may  be  considered  to  have 
ruled  the  country,  till  the  decree  issued  by  Charles  III.  in 
1767,  for  the  immediate  banishment  of  the  society  from  the 
Spanish  dominions,  led  to  their  expulsion  from  the  New  World. 
During  this  long  period,  the  only  expedition  of  discovery  that 
ventured  into  these  seas  was  that  which  Behring  and  Tchiri- 
cofF  led  forth  in  174 1  from  the  shores  of  Kamtchatka,  under 
the  Russian  flag.  Behring's  own  voyage  southward  is  not 
supposed  to  have  extended  beyond  the  60th  parallel  of  north 
latitude,  where  ho  discovered  a  stupendous  mountain,  visible 
at  the  distance  of  more  than  eighty  miles,  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  which  it  still  bears.  The  ac- 
count is  derived  from  the  journal  of  Steller,  the  naturalist  of 
Behring's  ship,  which  Professor  Pallas  first  published  in  1795, 
as  Behring  himself  died  on  his  voyage  home,  in  one  of  the 
islands  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  between  54.J  and  55^ 
degrees  north  latitude.  Here  his  vessel  had  been  wrecked, 
and  the  island  still  bears  the  name  of  the  Russian  navigator. 
Tchiricoff,  on  the  other  hand,  advanced  further  eastward,  and 
the  Russians  themselves  maintain  that  he  pushed  his  discov- 
eries as  far  south  as  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  (Letter 


from  the  Chevalier  de  Poletica,  Russian  Minister,  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  at  Washington,  February  23,  1822,  in  British 
and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1821-22,  p.  483 ;)  but  this  has 
been  disputed.  Mr.  Greonhow  considers,  from  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  latitude  and  bearings  of  the  land  discovered  by  him, 


■f^i 


'  y 


fW 


!4 


JUAN    PEREZ, 


55 


Hntrce  dc- 

t  period  of 

America. 

of the  sev- 

senth,  con- 

3ninsula  of 

3rs,  which, 

n  in  1616, 

311,  carried 

frequency. 

jcted,  by  a 

ition  at  the 

iguay  em- 

a  chain  of 

de  of  Cali- 

•ed  to  have 

les  III.  in 

f  from  the 

ew  World. 

every  that 

[id  Tchiri. 

tka,  under 

ard  is  not 

of  north 

,  visible 

1  he  gave 

The  ac- 

turalist  of 

1  in  1795, 

)np  of  the 

and  55^ 

wrecked, 

lavigator. 

ward,  and 

3  discov- 

,  (Letter 

the  Sec- 

n  British 

this  has 

descrip. 

d  by  him, 


in 


i'>H 


that  it  must  have  been  one  of  the  islands  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  Archipelago,  in  about  56*^. 

The  discoveries  of  the  Russians,  of  which  vague  rumours 
had  found  their  way  into  Europe,  and  of  which  a  detailed  ac- 
count was  given  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Paris,  in  1750, 
by  J.  N.  de  I'lslo,  the  astronomer,  on  his  return  from  St. 
Petersburg,  r  vived  the  attention  of  Spain  to  the  importance 
of  securing  her  possessions  in  the  New  World  against  the 
encroachments  of  other  Powers.  It  was  determined  that  the 
vacant  coasts  and  islands  adjacent  to  the  settled  provinces  of 
New  Spain  should  be  occupied,  so  as  to  protect  them  against 
casual  expeditions,  and  that  the  more  distant  shores  should  be 
explored,  so  as  to  secure  to  the  crown  of  Spain  a  title  to  them, 
on  the  grounds  of  first  discovery.  With  this  object  "  the  Ma- 
rine Department  of  San  Bias"  was  organised,  and  was  charged 
with  the  superintendence  of  all  operations  by  sea.  Its  activity 
was  evinced  by  the  establishment  of  eight  "Presidios"  along 
the  c-v>.st  in  Upper  California,  in  the  interval  of  the  ten  years 
imic:  •'  Iv  preceding  1779.  Of  these  San  Diego,  in  Si*^ 
39'  3/  ,  /r  5  the  most  southerly ;  San  Francisco,  in  38°  48'  30", 
the  moat  northerly.  During  the  same  period,  three  expeditions 
of  discovery  were  dispatched  from  San  Bias.  The  earliest  of 
these  sailed  forth  in  January,  1774,  under  the  command  of 
Juan  Perez,  but  its  results  were  not  made  known  before  1802, 
when  the  narrative  of  the  expedition  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana 
was  published,  as  already  stated.  According  to  this  account, 
Perez,  having  touched  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  steered 
out  boldly  into  the  open  sea,  and  made  the  coast  of  America 
again  in  53°  53'  north.  In  the  latitude  of  55°  he  discovered 
a  headland,  to  which  ho  gave  the  name  of  Santa  Margarita,  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  The 
strait  which  separates  this  island  from  that  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  is  henceforward  marked  in  Spanish  maps  as  the  En- 
trada  de  Perez.  A  scanty  supply  of  water,  however,  soon 
compelled  him  to  steer  southward,  and  he  cast  anchor  in  the 
Bay  of  San  Lorenzo  in  49°  30',  in  the  month  of  August,  and 
for  a  short  time  engaged  in  trade  with  the  natives.  Spanish 
writers  identify  the  bay  of  San  Lorenzo  with  that  to  which 
Captain  Cook,  four  years  afterwards,  gave  the  name  of  Nootka 
Sound.  Perez  was  prevented  from  landing  on  this  coast  by 
the  stormy  state  of  the  weather,  and  his  vessel  was  obliged  to 
cut  her  cables,  and  put  to  sea  with  the  loss  of  her  anchors. 
He  is  supposed,  in  coasting  southward,  to  have  caught  sight 


m 

i  jl 


I- 


^  ■  \\\ 


,.**■ 


i    I 


56 


MAURELLE  S   JOURNAL. 


I  ^  * 


<  y. 

H 

5 


ni 


1 


■  ■  ■' 


ili^^ 


l,;i|: 


■  I  ■  I. 

■.Ih 

i    ' 

'  1 '  ' 


of  Mount  Olympus  in  47°  47'.  Having  determined  the  true 
latitude  of  C.  Mendocino,  he  returned  to  San  Bias,  after  about 
eight  months'  absence.  Unfortunately  for  the  fame  of  Perez, 
the  claim  now  maintained  for  him  to  the  discovery  of  Nootka 
Sound,  was  kept  secret  by  the  Spaniards  till  after  general 
consent  had  assigned  it  to  Captain  Cook.  The  Spaniards 
have  likewise  advanced  a  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the  Straits 
of  Fuca,  upon  the  authority  of  Don  Esteban  Jose  Martinez, 
the  pilot  of  the  Santiago,  Perez'  vessel ;  who,  according  to 
Mr.  Greenhow,  announced  many  years  afterwards  that  he 
remembered  to  have  observed  a  wide  opening  in  the  land  be- 
tween 48°  and  49°  :  and  they  have  consequently  marked  in 
their  charts  the  headland  at  the  entrance  of  the  straits  as  Capo 
Martinez.  No  allusion,  however,  is  made  to  this  claim  in  the 
Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  nor  in 
Humboldt's  New  Spain. 

In  the  following  year  (1775)  a  second  expedition  sailed 
from  San  Bias  under  the  orders  of  Don  Bruno  Heceta,  Don 
Juan  de  Ayala,  and  Don  Juan  de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra.  The 
Spanish  government  observed  their  usual  prudent  silence  as 
to  the  results  of  this  expedition,  but  the  journal  of  Antonio 
Maurelle,  "  the  second  pilot  of  the  fleet,''  who  acted  as  pilot 
in  the  Senora,  which  Bodega  commanded,  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Hon.  Daines  Barrington,  who  published  an  English 
translation  of  it  in  his  Miscellanies,  in  1781.  There  are  four 
other  accounts  in  MS.  amongst  the  archives  at  Madrid.  From 
one  of  these,  the  journal  of  Heceta  himself,  a  valuable  extract 
is  given  in  Mr.  Greenhow's  Appendix.  Their  first  discovery 
north  of  C.  Mendocino,  was  a  small  port  in  41°  7',  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  La  Trinidad,  and  where  they  fixed  up 
a  cross,  which  Vancouver  found  still  remaining  in  1793.  They 
then  quitted  the  coast,  and  did  not  make  the  land  again  till 
they  reached  48°  26',  whence  they  examined  the  shore  in 
vain  towards  the  south  for  the  supposed  Strait  of  Fuca,  which 
was  placed  in  Bellin's  fanciful  chart,  constructed  in  1766,  be- 
tween 47°  and  48°.  Having  had  seven  of  the  Senora's  men 
massacred  by  the  natives  in  the  latitude  of  47°  20',  whe.-e 
twelve  years  later  a  portion  of  the  crew  of  the  Imperial  Eagle 
were  surprised  and  murdered,  they  resumed  their  voyage 
northward,  though  Heceta,  owing  to  the  sickness  of  his  crew, 
was  anxious  to  return.  A  storm  soon  afterwards  separated 
the  two  vessels,  and  Heceta  returned  southward.  On  his 
voyage  homewards  he  first  made  the  land  on  the  10th  of 


M 


il! 


31' 


nod  the  true 
s,  after  about 
me  of  Perez, 
vy  of  Nootka 
itler  general 
le  Spaniards 
of  the  Straits 
56  Martinez, 
according  to 
ards  that  he 
the  land  be- 
y  marked  in 
aits  as  Cape 
claim  in  the 
cana,  nor  in 

litlon  sailed 
leceta,  Don 
ladra.     The 
t  silence  as 
of  Antonio 
ited  as  pilot 
o  the  hands 
an  English 
ere  are  four 
Irid.    From 
ible  extract 
:  discovery 
to  which 
3y  fixed  up 
793.   They 
again  till 
shore  in 
uca,  which 
1766,  be. 
ora's  men 
20',  whe.e 
rial  Eagle 
ir  voyage 
his  crew, 
separated 
On  his 
e  10th  of 


'S*. 


i 


PORT    DE    LA    BODEGA. 


57 

■iland 


August,  in  49^  30',  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  great  isl 
now  known  as  Vancouver's  Island,  and  passing  the  part  which 
Porez  had  visited,  canio  upon  the  main  land  below  the  en- 
trance of  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  On  the  17th  of  August,  as  ho 
was  sailinj;  alonjj  the  coast  between  40°  40'  and  40°  4', 
according  to  Heceta's  own  report,  or  in  40  9'  according  to 
the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana, 
Heceta  discovered  a  great  bay,  the  head  of  which  he  could  no 
where  recognise.  So  strong,  however,  were  the  currents  and 
eddies  of  the  water,  that  he  believed  it  to  be  "the  mouth  of 
some  great  river,  or  passage  to  another  sea."  He  was  dis- 
posed, according  to  his  own  statement,  to  conceive  it  to  be  the 
same  with  the  Straits  of  Fuca,  as  he  was  satisfied  no  such 
straits  existed  l)ctween  47°  and  48^,  where  they  were  laid 
down  in  the  charts.  He  did  not,  however,  venture  to  cast 
anchor  ;  and  the  force  of  the  currents,  during  the  nigiit,  swept 
him  too  far  to  leeward  to  allow  him  to  examine  it  any  further. 
Ileceta  named  the  northern  headland  of  the  bay,  C.  San  Ro(|ue  ; 
and  the  sojtliern  iieadland,  C  Frondoso;  and  t(j  the  bay  itself 
he  gave  the  name  of  the  Assumption,  though,  in  the  Spanish 
charts,  according  to  IIuml)oldt,  it  is  termed  "  TEnsenada  de 
Ezeta,"  Heceta's  Inlet.  Ileceta  likewise  gave  the  name  of 
C  Falcon  to  a  headland  in  45°  43',  known  since  as  C.  Look- 
out ;  and  continuing  his  course  to  the  southward  along  the 
coast,  reached  Monterey  on  August  30th. 

De  la  Bodega,  in  the  ni(\an  time,  had  stretched  out  to  56°, 
when  he  unexpc^ctedly  made  the  coast,  135  leagues  more  to 
the  westward  than  Hellin's  chart  had  led  him  to  exprct.  He 
soon  afterwards  discovered  the  loftv  conical  mountain  in  Kiii"- 
(Jeorge  III.'s  Arcliipc^lagi^,  to  whicli  he  gave  the  name  of  San 
Jacinto,  and  wiiich  Cook  subsecjuentiy  called  Mount  Edge- 
cuml),  and  having  reached  the  58th  parallel,  turned  back  to 
examine  that  [)ortion  of  the  coast,  where  the  Uiode  los  Reyes 
was  placed  in  the  story  of  the  adventures  o*'  Admiral  Fonte. 
Having  looked  for  this  fabulous  stream  in  vain,  they  landed 
and  took  possession  of  tlu^  shores  of  an  extensive  bay,  in  55° 
30',  in  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Archipelago,  which  they  named 
Port  Bucareli,  in  honour  of  the  Viceroy.  Proceeding  south- 
ward, they  observed  the  I^ntrada  de  Perez,  north  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island  ;  but,  though  coasting  from  49°  within  a 
mile  of  the  shore,  according  to  Maurelle's  account,  they  over- 
looked the  entrance  of  Fuca's  Straits.  A  little  below  47°  un- 
favourable winds  drove  them  off  the  coast,  which  they  made 


*■  i 


H 


> 


t 


m 


11! 


n 


1 1 


!!'■ 


■\\u 


11^ 

i'  iV.  . 
i:  Ml    !' 


58 


CAPTAIN    COOK  S    VOYAGE. 


once  more  in  45°  27'  ;  from  which  parallel  they  searched  in 
vain  to  42°  for  the  river  of  Martin  d'Aguiiar.  In  the  latitude 
of  38°  18'  they  reached  a  spacious  and  sheltered  bay,  which 
they  had  imagined  to  be  Port  San  Francisco  ;  but  it  proved 
to  be  a  distinct  bay,  not  yet  laid  down  in  any  chart,  so  De  la 
Bodega  bestowed  his  own  name  upon  it,  having  noted  in  his 
journal  that  it  was  here  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  careened  his 
ship.  Vancouver,  however,  considered  the  bay  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake  to  be  distinct  from  this  bay  of  Bodega,  as  well  as  from 
that  of  San  Francisco. 

Expeditions  had  been,  in  the  mean  time,  made  by  direction 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  across  the  northern  regions  of 
North  America,  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  existence  of  the 
supposed  northern  passage  between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  Mr.  Samuel  Hearne,  one  of  the  Company's 
agents,  in  1771,  in  the  course  of  one  of  these  journeys,  suc- 
ceeded in  tracing  a  river,  since  known  as  the  Coppermine 
River,  to  a  sea,  where  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tide  was  ob- 
served. Hearne  calculated  the  mouth  of  this  river  to  be  in 
about  72°  north  latitude ;  and  he  had  assured  himself,  by  his 
own  observations,  that  no  channel  connecting  the  two  seas 
extended  across  the  country  which  he  had  traversed.  It  ap- 
pears  that  a  parliamentary  grant  of  20,000Z.  had  been  voted, 
in  1745,  by  the  House  of  Commons,  for  the  discovery  of  a 
north-west  passage,  through  Hudson's  Bay,  by  ships  belong- 
ing to  his  Britannic  Majesty's  subjects  ;  and  in  1776,  this  re- 
ward was  further  extended  to  the  ships  of  his  Majesty,  which 
might  succeed  in  discovering  a  northern  passage  between  the 
two  oceans,  in  any  direction  or  under  any  parallel  norih  of 
62°.  The  Lords  of  the  British  Admiralty,  in  pursuance  of 
Hearne's  report,  determined  on  sending  out  an  expedition  to 
explore  the  north-easternmost  coast  of  the  Pacific  ;  and  Cap- 
tain  James  Cook,  who  had  just  returned  from  an  expedition  in 
the  southern  hemisphere,  was  ordered,  in  1770,  to  proceed 
round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  in 
45  degrees.  He  was  besides  directed  to  avoid  all  interfer- 
ence with  the  establishments  of  European  Powers  :  to  explore 
the  coast  northward,  after  reaching  New  Albion,  up  to  65°  ,• 
and  there  to  commence  ^earch  for  a  river  or  inlet  w^hich 
might  communicate  with  .tison's  Bay.  Ho  was  further 
directed  to  take  possession  u.  ♦ho  name  of  his  sovereign,  of 
any  countries  which  he  m  ^ht  discover  to  be  uninhabited  ;  and 
if  there  should  be  inhabit  tnts  in  any  parts  not  yet  discovered 


NOOTKA    SOUND. 


59 


y  searched  in 
In  the  latitude 
^■d  bay,  which 

but  it  proved 
lart,  so  De  la 
<;  noted  in  his 
careened  his 
of  Sir  Francis 

well  as  from 

3  by  direction 

3rn  regions  of 

istence  of  the 

Bay  and  the 

e  Compitny's 

lurneys,  sue 

Coppermine 

tide  was  ob- 

iver  to  be  in 

mself,  by  his 

the  two  seas 

hsed.     It  ap. 

1  been  voted, 

SCO very  of  a 

lips  belong. 

776,  this  re. 

esty,  which 

jetwcen  the 

el  norih  of 

ursuance  of 

pedition  to 

;  and  Cap. 

xpedition  in 

to  proceed 

V  Albion,  in 

all  interfer- 

to  explore 

up  to  65°  ,' 

niet  which 

as  further 

vereign,  of 

bited ;  and 

discovered 


•1 


by  other  European  powers,  to  take  possession  of  them,  with 
the  consent  of  the  natives.  No  authentic  details  of  any  dis- 
coveries  had  been  made  public  by  the  Spaniards  since  the  ex- 
pedition of  Viscaino,  in  I60'«i,  though  rumours  of  certain  voy. 
ages  along  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  made  by  order 
of  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  in  the  two  preceding  years,  had 
reached  England  shortly  before  Cook  sailed  ;  but  the  informa- 
tion  was  too  vague  to  alford  Cook  any  safe  directions. 

The  expedition  reached  the  shores  of  New  Albion  in  44° 
north,  and  thence  coasted  at  some  distance  o  i  i  .  o  48°.  Cook 
arrived  at  the  same  conclusion  which  lleceia  had  adopted, 
that  between  47°  and  48°  north  there  were  no  Straits  of  Eu- 
ca,  as  alleged.  He  seems  to  have  passed  unobserved  the  arm 
of  the  sea  a  little  further  northward,  having  most  probably 
struck  across  to  the  coast  of  Vancouver's  Island,  which  trends 
north-westward.  Having  now  reached  the  parallel  of  49° 
30',  he  cast  anchor  in  a  spacious  bay,  to  which  he  gave  the 
name  of  King  George's  Sound  ;  but  the  name  of  Nootka,  bor- 
rowed from  the  natives,  has  since  prevailed.  It  has  been 
supposed,  as  already  stated,  that  Nootka  Sound  was  the  bay 
in  which  Perez  cast  anchor,  and  which  he  named  Port  San 
Lorenzo ;  and  that  the  implements  of  European  manufacture, 
which  Captain  Cook,  to  his  great  surprise,  found  in  the  pos- 
session of  one  of  the  natives,  were  ol)tained  on  that  occasion 
from  the  Spaniards.  The  first  notification,  however,  of  the 
existence  of  this  important  harbour,  dates  from  this  visit  of 
Captain  Cook,  who  continued  his  voyage  northward  up  to  the 
59th  parallel,  and  from  that  point  commenced  his  survey  of 
the  coast,  in  the  hope  of  discovering  a  passage  into  the  Atlan- 
tic.  It  is  unnecessary  to  trace  his  course  onward.  Although 
Spanish  navigators  claim  to  have  seen  portions  of  the  coast 
of  North  America  between  the  limits  of  48°  and  55°  prior  to 
his  visit,  yet  their  discoveries  had  not  bc(Mi  made  public,  and 
their  observations  had  been  too  cursory  and  vague  to  lead  to 
any  practical  result.  Captain  Cook  is  entitled,  beyond  dis- 
pute,  to  the  credit  of  having  first  dispelled  the  popular  errors 
respecting  the  extent  of  the  continents  of  America  and  Asia, 
and  their  respective  proximity  :  and  as  Drake,  according  to 
Fletcher,  changed  the  name  of  the  land  south  of  Magellan's 
Straits  from  Terra  Incognita  to  Terra  nunc  bene  Cognita,  so 
Cook  was  assuredly  entitled  to  change  the  name  of  the  North 
Pacific  Sea  from  "  Mare  Incognitum"  to  "  Mare  nunc  bene 
Cognitum,"' 


•  ,. 


,{'       |Hi'; 


ii   . 


60 


RUSSIAN    ESTABLISHMENTS. 


y   liiiii 


•inn 


1 


UH 


t    [ 


M       t 


'Ii 


f.! 


h;^ 


Piiii 


|: .   I!   ii 


Pi:: 


;!!U 


On  the  return  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  this  expedition  to 
Kngland,  where  they  arrived  in  Oetober,  1780,  it  was  thought 
expedient  by  the  Board  of  Admiralty  to  delay  the  publication 
of  an  authorised  account,  as  Great  Britain  was  engaged  in 
hostilities  with  the  United  States  in  America,  and  with  France 
and  Spain  in  the  Old  World.  The  Russians  in  the  mean  time 
hastened  to  avail  themselves  of  ...e  information  which  they 
had  obtained  when  Captain  King,  on  his  way  homewards  by 
China,  touched  at  the  harl»or  of  Petropawlosk,  and  an  associ- 
ation was  speedily  formed  amongst  the  fur  merchants  of  Sibe- 
ria  and  Kamtchatka  to  open  a  trade  with  the  shores  of  the 
American  continent.  An  expedition  was  in  consequence  dis- 
patched in  1783,  for  the  double  purpose  of  trading  and  explor- 
ing, and  several  trading  posts  were  established  between  Ali- 
aska  and  Prince  William's  Sound.  Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  161; 
assigns  to  this  period  the  Russian  establishment  on  the  isl« 
of  Kodiak,  near  the  entrance  of  the  bay  called  Cook's  hay, 
but  the  Russian  authorities  refer  this  settlement  to  a  period  as 
remote  as  1763.  (Letter  from  the  Chevalier  de  Poletica  to 
the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  2Sth  February,  1822. 
British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1821-22,  p.  484.)  The 
Russian  establishments  seem  to  have  extended  themselves  in 
1787,  and  the  following  year  as  far  as  Admiralty  Bay,  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Elias.  The  publication,  however,  of  the  jour- 
nals of  Cook's  expedition,  which  took  place  in  1784-5,  soon 
introduced  a  host  of  rival  traders  into  these  seas.  Private 
expeditions  were  dispatched  from  Macao,  under  the  Portu- 
guese flag,  in  1785  and  1786,  and  under  the  flag  of  the  East 
India  Company  in  1786.  In  the  month  of  June  of  this  latter 
year.  La  Perouse,  in  command  of  a  French  expedition  of  dis- 
covery, arrived  off  the  coast,  and  cast  anchor  in  a  bay  near 
the  foot  of  Mount  Fairweather,  in  about  59°,  which  he  named 
Port  des  Franeais.  He  thence  skirted  the  coast  southward 
past  Port  Bucareli,  the  western  shores  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
Island,  and  Nootka,  and  reached  Monterey  in  September, 
where  having  stayed  sixteen  days,  he  bade  adieu  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  America.  La  Perouse  seems  first  to  have  sus- 
pected the  separation  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  from  the 
continent,  but  as  no  account  of  the  results  of  this  expedition 
was  published  before  1797,  other  navigators  forestalled  him 
in  the  description  of  nearly  all  the  places  which  he  had 
visited. 

In  the  August  of  1785,  in  which  year  La  Perouse  had  sail- 


:-|s^ 


KINO    OnOlKJli  S    SOUND    COMPANY. 


01 


rd,  an  association  in  London,  styled  tlio  Fviii^  (jJeorfjc's  SoiujJ 
('(wnpany,  (lis|)atcli(>d  two  vrssels  inulor  the  coinnKUid  ot'Cap- 
tains  Dixon  and  I'oitlock,  to  trade  with  the  natives  on  the 
American  coast,  under  the  protection  of  licences  from  the 
South  Sea  Company,  and  in  correspondence  with  the  East  In- 
dia  Company.  They  reached  ('ook's  River  in  Jidy  1780, 
where  they  met  with  Russian  traders,  and  intended  to  winter 
in  Xootka  Sound,  hut  were  driven  oil' the  coast  by  tempestu- 
ous weather  to  the  Sandwich  Isles.  Returning  northward  in 
the  spring  ot  17f^7,  they  found  ('aptain  Meares,  with  his  vessel 
the  Nootka,  frozen  up  in  Prince  VVilHauj's  Sound.  Meares 
had  left  Calcutta  in  January  1780,  whilst  his  intended  con- 
sort, the  Sea  Otter,  commanded  hy  Captain  Tip|)ing,  had  been 
dispatched  to  Malacca,  with  instructions  to  proceed  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America,  and  there  carry  on  a  fur  trade  in 
company  with  the  Xootka.  lioth  these  vessels  sailed  under 
the  flag  of  the  I'iast  India  Company.  Meares,  after  having 
with  some  ditlicully  got  clear  of  the  Russian  establishment  at 
Kodiak,  renched  Cook's  River  soon  after  Dixon  and  Rortlock 
had  quitted  it,  and  proceeded  to  Prince  William's  Sound, 
where  he  expected  to  meet  the  Sea  Otter ;  but  Captain  Tip- 
ping and  his  vessel  were  never  seen  by  him  again  after  leav- 
ing Calcutta,  though  Meares  was  led  by  the  natives  to  sup- 
pose that  his  consort  had  sailed  from  Prince  William's  Sound 
a  few  davs  befon^  his  arrival.  lie  determined,  however,  to 
pass  the  winter  here,  in  preference  to  sailing  to  the  Sandwich 
Isles,  lest  he  should  be  prevented  returning  to  the  coast  of 
America.  Here  indeed  the  severity  of  the  cold,  coupled  with 
scurvy,  destroyed  more  than  half  of  his  crew,  and  the  survi- 
vors  were  found  in  a  state  of  extreme  distress  by  Dixon  and 
Portlock,  on  their  return  to  the  coast  in  the  following  spring 

We  have  now  reached  a  period  when  many  minute  and 
detached  discoveries  took  place.  Prince  William's  Sound 
and  Xootka  appear  to  have  been  the  two  great  strtions  of  the 
fur  trade,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  customary,  in  most  of  the 
trading  expeditions  of  this  period,  that  two  vessels  should  be 
dispatched  in  company,  so  as  to  divide  the  labor  of  visiting  the 
trading  posts  along  t!ie  coasts.  Thus,  whilst  F*ortlork  remain- 
ed  between  Prince  William's  Sound  and  Mount  St.  Elias.  Dix- 
on directed  his  course  towards  Xootka,  and  being  convinced 
on  his  voyage,  from  the  reports  of  the  natives,  that  the  land 
])etween  ')2°  and  ~:>4°  was  separated  froin  the  continent,  as  La 
Perousc  had  suspected,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  call  it  (iueen 


m 
Pi 


;  4 


'  11 
HI 


1 


' :  i  '  , 


■  ■    ■«■•' 


62 


MEARES    ASD   TIPPING. 


u^W 


I 


li 


iiihi 
nil'! 


Hi 

hi 

i 


Charlolto's  Island,  from  the  name  of  his  vessel,  and  to  give  to 
the  passage  to  the  northward  of  it,  whici  is  marked  on  Spa- 
nish maps  as  the  Entrada  de  Perez,  the  name  of  Dixon's  En- 
trance. Before  Dixon  and  Portiock  ([uitted  these  coasts,  in 
1787,  other  vessels  had  arrived  to  share  in  the  profits  of  the 
fur  trade.  Amongst  these  the  Princess  Royal  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales  had  been  despatched  from  England,  by  the  King 
George's  Sound  Company,  under  command  of  Captains  Dun- 
can and  Colnett ;  whilst  the  Imperial  Eagle,  under  Captain 
Barclay,  an  Englishman,  displayed  in  those  seas  for  the  first 
time  the  flag  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company.  To  a  boat's 
crew  belonging  to  this  latter  vessel  Captain  Meares  assigns 
the  discovery  of  the  straits  in  48°  30',  to  which  he  himself  gave 
in  the  following  year  the  name  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  from  the  old 
Greek  pilot,  whose  curious  story  has  been  preserved  in  Pur- 
chas'  Pilgrims.  (Introduction  to  Meares'  Voyages,  p.  Iv.) 
Meares  had  succeeded  in  returning  to  Macao  with  the  Nootka, 
in  October,  1787.  In  the  next  year  he  was  once  more  upon 
the  American  coast,  as  two  other  vessels,  named  the  Fe- 
lice and  Iphigenia,  were  despatched  from  Macao,  under 
Meares  and  Captain  Douglas  respectively,  the  former  being 
sent  direct  to  Nootka,  the  latter  being  ordered  to  make  for 
Cook's  River,  and  thence  proceeding  southward  to  join  her 
consort.  Meares,  in  his  Observations  on  a  North-west  Pas- 
sage, states,  that  Captain  Douglas  anticipated  Captain  Dun- 
can, of  the  Princess  Royal,  in  being  the  first  to  sail  through 
the  Channel  which  separates  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  from 
the  main  land,  and  thereby  confirming  the  suppositions  of  La 
Perouse  and  Dixon.  Captain  Duncan,  however,  appears  at 
all  events  to  have  explored  this  par*  of  the  coast  more  care- 
fully  than  Douglas  had  done,  and  he  first  discovered  the  group 
of  small  islands,  which  he  named  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Archi- 
pelago. The  announcement  of  this  discovery  seemc  d  to  some 
persons  to  warrant  them  in  giving  credit  once  more  to  the  ex- 
ploded story  of  Admiral  Fonte's  voyage,  and  revived  the  ex- 
pectation of  discovering  the  river,  which  the  admiral  is  de- 
scribed to  have  ascended  near  53°  into  a  lake  communicating 
with  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  almost  needless  to  observe, 
that  these  expectations  have  never  been  realised. 

The  names  of  several  vessels  have  been  omitted  in  this 
brief  summary,  which  were  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  subse- 
quently to  the  year  178").  Two  vessels,  however,  require  no- 
tice,— the  Washington  under  Captain  Gray,  and  the  Colum- 


■i 

I 


■(• 


GRAY    AND    KEXDKICK. 


03 


i  to  give  to 
cd  on  Spa- 
)ixon's  En- 
coasts,  in 
olits  of  the 
tho  Prince 
yr  the  King 
itains  Dun- 
ler  Captain 
tor  the  tirst 
To  a  boat's 
tres  assigns 
imself  gave 
rom  the  old 
•ved  in  Pur- 
ges, p.   Iv.) 
the  Nootka, 
;  more  upon 
led  the  Fe- 
icao,   under 
jrmer  being 
|to  make  for 
to  join  her 
h-west  Pas- 
laptain  Dun- 
lail  through 
Island  from 
iitions  of  La 
I,  appears  at 
more  care- 
?d  the  group 
lales'  Archi- 
iiic  d  to  some 
e  to  tho  ex- 
Ived  the  ex- 
liral  is  de- 
imunicating 
to  observe, 


i 


4 


])la  undor  Captain  Kendrick,  which  wore  dospatclicd  from 
Boston,  unrirr  tho  Aniorican  Hag,  in  August,  IT"^?.  Cap'ain 
Gray  reached   Nootka   Sound,  on  Sept.    17,  IT'-S,  and   touud 


M 


earcs  prepann 


ir  to  launch  a  small  vessel  called  the  Xurth- 


west  America,  which  he  had  built  there.  'I'he  Columbia 
does  not  appear  to  have  joined  lu»r  consort  till  after  the  de- 
parture  of  Meares  and  his  companions.  Meares  himself  set 
sail  in  the  Felice  for  China,  on  Sept.  2IJ,  whilst  liie  Ipliigenia 
proceeded  with  the  North-west  America  to  the  Sandwich  Is- 
lands, and  wintered  there.  In  the  sjiring  of  1789,  the  two 
latter  vessels  returned  >  Nootka  Sound,  and  foiuid  the  Co- 
lumbia had  joined  her  consort  the  Washir)gton,  and  both  had 
wintered  there.  The  North-west  America  was  despatched 
forthwith  on  a  trading  expedition  northward,  whilst  the  Iplii- 
genia remained  at  anchor  in  Nootka  Sound. 

Events  were  now  at  hand  which  were  attended  with  very 
important  consequences  in  determining  the  relations  of  Spain 
and  Great  Hritain  towards  each  other  in  respect  to  the  trade 
with  the  natives  on  their  coasts,  and  to  the  right  of  forming 
settlements  among  them.  These  will  fitly  be  rooierved,  as  in- 
troductory to  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial,  which  will  be 
discussed  in  a  subsequent  Chapter. 


t     s 


III 


•  i' 


litted  in  this 

rade  subse- 

J  require  no- 

(the  Colum- 


I  It   H 

■I    ■ 


04 


CIIAPTKR  IV. 


)^ 


,1 

ri  J      ;! 


:»'  :i;  Ml  :  i 


J 


ON  Tin:  PRKTENDKD  DISfOVKRIKS  OF  TlIK  NORTH-WEST 

COAST. 


Voy. 


Mrmoir  of  Lorenzo  Ferrer  ]\Ial(lonndo,  in  1588.  —  Voyage  of  the  D 
bicrtii  and  Atrevida,  in  171)1.  —  Tale  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  15!)2. —     .^ 
agcB  of  MoarcB,  Vancouver,  and  Lieutenant  Wilkes.  —  Letter  of  Admi. 
ral  Bartolemd  Fontc  or  dc   Fucntcs,  in   IGIO.  —  Memoir  of  J.  N.  da 

I'lslc  and  Fli.  Ijuaclic,  in  1750 California  discovered  to  be  a  Penin. 

aula  in   1540;  reported  to  be  an  iKlaiul  in  ICiiJO  ;  re-explored  by  tho 

Jesuit    Kuhn  and  others,  in  iTOi-iil Maps  of  the  sixteenth  and 

Beventecnth  Centuries.  —  Fonte's  Letter,  a  jeu-d'esprit  of  Petiver,  tho 
Naturalist. 

The  general  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  North-west  passage 
from  tiie  Atlantic  to  the  Pacilic  Ocean  in  the  direction  of  Cas- 
par de  Cortereal's  reported  Straits  of  Anian,  led  to  the  circu- 
iation  of  many  false  accoinits  of  the  discovery  of  the  desired 
channel.  The  most  celebrated  fictions  of  this  class  seem  to 
have  originated  with  individuals  who  hoped  to  secure,  through 
their  pretended  knowledge  and  experience,  future  employnicnt, 
as  well  as  immediate  emolument.  A  memoir  of  this  kind  is 
reported  to  have  been  laid  bef«)re  the  Council  of  the  Indies  at 
Seville,  in  1609,  by  Lorcn/o  Ferrer  Maldonado,  who  profess- 
ed to  have  sailed  in  158!i  from  Lisljon  to  the  coast  of  Labra- 
dor, and  thence  into  the  Sintli  Sea  through  a  channel  in  00° 
north  latitude,  corresponding  to  the  Strait  of  Anian,  accord- 
ing to  ancient  tradition.  He  petitioned,  in  conseijuence,  that 
he  might  be  rewarded  for  his  services,  and  be  entrusted  with 
an  expedition  to  occupy  the  Strait  of  Anian,  and  defend  the 
passage  against  other  nations.  His  cotemporaries,  accord- 
ing to  the  author  of  the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Su- 
til  and  Mexicana,  were  men  of  more  judgment  and  intelli- 
gence than  some  of  the  writers  of  the  Ibth  century.  Tho 
former  at  once  discovered,  by  personal  examination  of  the  au- 
thor, the  fictitious  character  of  his  narrative,  and  rejected  his 
proposal.  Two  copies  of  this  memoir  are  supposed  to  exist ; 
one  of  these  being  preserved  in  the  library  of  the  Duke  of 
lufantado  at  Madrid,  tho  other  in  the  Ambrosian  Library  at 


■  M 


:  1 


i 


*»> 


DESCUHIEUTA.    AND    ATUKVIUA. 


05 


af  the  Dcscu. 
1592.  — Voy. 
;Ucr  of  Admi- 
ir  of  J.  N.da 
;o  br  a  Pen  in- 
plorcd  by  tho 
Bixfcentli  and 
f  Potiver,  tho 


'est  passage 
ition  of  Cas- 
to  the  circu- 
"the  desired 
iiss  seem  to 
lire,  through 
mploymciit, 
this  kind  is 
10  Indies  at 
vho  profess- 
it  of  Labra- 
nnel  in  G0° 
an,  accord- 
[uence,  that 
rusted  with 
defend  the 
!S,  accord- 
of  the  Su- 
nd  intelli- 
|tury.     Tho 
II  of  the  au- 
ejected  his 
d  to  exist ; 
e  Duke  of 
Library  at 


i 


Milan.     Tho  f  »rmor  of  those  is  considered   1>y  the  author  of 
the  Introihiction   to  be  e<'rtiiiniy  a  ((tlcniporanoons,  and  per- 


h 


i:i|)s  tho  on<;mal,  oopy  ol  llio  inonioii 


flh 


th 


tnhrosian  inanu- 


scrijtt,  on  tho  otlior  hand,  lias  boon  [ironouncod,  in  an  article 
in  tho  London  (inartorly  Uoview  for  (Jctobor,  1816,  to  bo 
"the  clumsy  and  audacious  forjfory  of  some  ignorant  <Jor. 
man,"  from  tho  circumstance  of  Jiftoon  leagues  t«)  the  degree 


I 


joitiff  used  in  some  o 


f  tlu 


computations. 


To  the  same  pur- 


pose ('apt.  James  Hurney,  in  the  fifth  volume  of  his  Voyages, 
published  in  1817,  observes,  that  *'  it  must  not  be  omitted 
that  the  reckoning  in  \ho.  narrative  is  in  (Jorn  in  leagues.  If 
is  said,  '  Irom  tiio  latitude  of  ()4'^  you  will  have  to  sail  120 
leagues  to  the  latitude  of  7*J^,  which  c()rres|)(>iid«  with  tho 
(jerman  league  of  IT)  to  a  degree,  and  not  with  the  Soanish 
league  of  17j  to  a  degree,  by  which  last  the  early  ^jianish 
navigators  were  accustomed  to  reckon 


I' 


rom  tins  pocuiiari 


ty  in  tho  narrativi;  it  may  be  conjectiuod,  that  the  rea'  authoi 

lid  not  \)(  iv  !  ad- 


was  a  f  loming,  wno  prolKiiily  thouglit  he  could  noi  ix 
vance  his  spurious  oll'spring,  than  l)y  laying  it  at  tho  do^r  of 
a  man  who  had  j)roiocted  to  invent  a  compass  without  varia- 
tion," as  Maldonado  professed  to  do  to  the  Council  of  the  In- 
dies, according  to  Antonio  Leo  in  his  Bibliotheca  Indica. 

Allusions  had  been  occasionally  made  to  this  work  by 
Spanish  writers  in  the  17th  century,  amongst  others  by  Do 
Luque,  the  author  of  the  "  Establecimieiitos  ITltramarinos  do 
las  \aceonos  Europeas."  It  was  not,  however,  till  so  late  a 
period  as  1790  that  the  attention  of  men  of  science  was  drawn 
to  the  Madrid  manuscript  by  J.  N.  Biiache,  the  geographer  of 
the  King  of  France,  in  a  pa[)er  read  before  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  at  Paris  in  that  year.  Captain  •  u'  joy  slates,  that 
the  manuscript  had  been  brought  to  notice  shortly  before  by 
M.  de  Mendoza,  a  captain  in  the  Spanish  navy,  who  was  em- 
ployed in  forming  a  collection  of  voyag*  ■*  for  the  use  of  that 
service.  M.  Buache,  who  had  succet  ded  D'Anville  as  Geo- 
grapher  Royal  in  17G8,  followed  the  geographical  system  of 
Ph.  Buj.che,  his  relative  and  predecessor,  and,  like  him,  clung 
fondly  to  questionable  discoveries.  He  had  been  employed 
to  prepare  instructions  for  the  expeditoi  of  La  Perouse,  and 
thus  his  attention  had  been  especially  drawn  to  voyages  of 
discovery  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  He  declared 
himself  in  his  memoir  so  strongly  in  favor  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  manuscript,  and  of  the  good  faith  of  Maldonado,  that 
the  Spanish  government,  in  order  that  the  question  might  be 


li 


T' 


■•'■•    /■ 

■  :■'•  < 

7^ 

•  ■'   "  ..■ 

' 

G6 


JUAN    DE    rue A. 


■  ;h 


•\ ; 


r  !■ 


:^H!i::;n 


t!     .i'li':' 


i   ' 


definitively  set  at  rest,  directed  its  archives  to  be  searched, 
and  the  manuscript  in  the  library  of  the  Dul<e  of  Infantado  to 
be  carefully  examined,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  orders  that 
the  corvettes  Descubierta  and  Atrevida,  which  were  fitting 
out  at  Acapulco  for  a  voyage  round  the  world,  should  explore 
the  coasts  and  port  which  Maldonado  pretended  to  have  dis- 
covered  in  the  South  Sea.  The  archives,  however,  furnished 
ample  evidence  of  the  correctness  of  the  ancient  opinion  that 
Maldonado  was  an  impostor,  and  the  expedition  of  the  cor- 
vettes, which  sailed  in  1791,  confirmed  this  fact  beyond  dis- 
pute. A  memoir  to  that  effect,  founded  upon  their  observa- 
tions, was  published  in  1797,  by  Don  Ciriaco  Cevallos,  who 
had  accompanied  the  expedition,  to  prove  the  utter  falsity  of 
Maldonado's  story. 

It  was,  however,  once  more  revived  by  the  discovery  of  the 
Ambrosian  manuscript  in  1812  by  Carlo  Amoretti.  This  is 
said  to  give  a  more  succinct  account  than  the  Madrid  docu- 
ment,  and  it  has  been  thought  by  some  to  be  an  abridgment 
of  it.  The  article  in  the  Quarterly  Review  above  alluded  to 
was  occasioned  by  its  appearance,  and  to  the  curious  will 
furnish  ample  information.  The  Milan  account  of  the  voyage 
may  be  referred  to  in  the  fifth  volume  of  Burney's  History  of 
Voyages.  The  Madrid  document  will  be  found  in  Barrow's 
Chronological  History  of  Voyages  in  the  Arctic  Regions. 

A  much  more  plausible  narrative  was  published  in  1625, 
in  the  third  volume  of  "  The  Pilgrims,"  by  Purchas,  the  sue 
cessor  of  Hakluyt  as  the  historian  of  maritime  enterprises. 
It  is  entitled  "  A  Note  made  by  me,  Michael  Lock  the  elder, 
touching  the  Strait  of  Sea,  commonly  called  Fretum  Anian, 
in  the  South  Sea,  through  the  North-west  Passage  of  Meta 
Incognita."  The  writer  purported  to  give  an  account  of 
what  had  been  communicated  to  him  at  Venice,  in  April, 
1596,  by  an  ancient  Greek  pilot,  commonly  called  Juan  de 
Fuca,  but  properly  named  Apostolos  Valerianus,  who  repre- 
sented  himself  to  have  been  taken  in  a  Spanish  ship  by  Cap. 
tain  Candish,  and  to  have  thereby  lost  60,000  ducats,  and  to 
have  been  at  another  time  sent  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  to 
discover  and  fortify  the  Straits  of  Anian.  His  tale  was  to  this 
effect :  "  That  shortly  afterwards,  having  been  sent  again, 
in  1592,  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  with  a  small  caravel  and 
pinnace,  armed  with  mariners  only,  he  followed  the  coast  of 
North  America  until  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  47°,  and  there 
finding  that  the  land  trended  east  and  north-east,  "vith  a  broad 


,'i> 


il 


il 


At 


*^'; 


NORTH-WEST    PASSAGE. 


67 


1 


)e  searched, 

Infantado  to 

}  orders  that 

were  fitting 

ould  explore 

to  have  dis- 

er,  furnished 

opinion  that 

n  of  the  cor- 

beyond  dis- 

eir  oi)serva- 

evallos,  who 

Iter  falsity  of 

;overy  of  the 
'tti.     This  is 
Madrid  docu- 
1  abridgment 
ve  alluded  to 
curious  will 
of  the  voyage 
r's  History  of 
in  Barrow's 
Regions, 
hed  in  1625, 
has,  the  suc- 
enterprises. 
ck  the  elder, 
etuni  Anian, 
age  of  Meta 
account  of 
e,  in  April, 
led  Juan  de 
who  repre- 
hip  by  Cap. 
cats,  and  to 
if  Mexico  to 
was  to  this 
sent  again, 
caravel  and 
Ithe  coast  of 
°,  and  there 
yith  a  broad 


I 


inlet  of  sea  between  47  and  48  degrees  of  latitude,  he  entered 
thereinto,  sailing  therein  more  than  twenty  days,  and  found 
that  land  trending  still  sometimes  north-west  and  north-cast 
and  north,  and  also  east,  and  south-eastward,  and  very  much 
l)roader  sea  than  was  at  the  said  entrance,  and  that  he  passed 
by  divers  islands  in  that  sailing.  And  that  at  the  entrance  of 
this  said  strait,  there  is  on  the  north-u'cst  coast  thereof  a  great 
headland  or  island,  with  an  exceeding  high  pinnacle  or  spired 
rock,  like  a  pillar,  thereupon. 

"  Also,  he  said,  he  went  on  land  in  divers  places,  and  there 
he  saw  some  people  on  land,  clad  is  beasts'  skins ;  and  that 
the  land  is  very  fruilfitl,  and  rich  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and 
other  things,  like  new  Spain. 

"  And  also,  he  said,  that  he  being  entered  thus  far  into  the 
said  strait,  and  being  come  into  the  North  Sea  alread},  and 
finding  the  sea  wide  enough  everywhere,  and  to  be  about  thir- 
ty  or  forty  leagues  iri.de  in  the  mouth  of  the  straits,  ichere  he 
entered,  ho  thought  that  he  had  now  well  discharged  his  office, 
and  that  not  being  armed  to  resist  the  force  of  the  savage  peo- 
ple that  might  happen,  he  theretbre  set  sail,  and  returned 
homewards  again  towards  New  Spain,  where  he  arrived  at 
Acapulco,  anno  1592,  hoping  to  be  rewarded  by  the  Viceroy 
for  the  service  done  in  the  said  voyage. 

"Also,  he  said  that,  after  coming  to  Mexico,  he  was  great- 
ly welcomed  by  the  Viceroy,  and  had  promises  of  great  re- 
ward ;  but  that  having  sued  there  for  two  years,  and  obtained 
nothing  to  his  content,  the  Viceroy  told  him  that  he  should  be 
rewarded  in  Spain  of  the  King  himself  very  greatly,  and  will- 
ed  him  therefore  to  go  to  S))ain,  which  voyage  he  did  per- 
form. 

"  Also,  ho  said,  that  when  ho  was  come  into  Spain,  he  was 
welcomed  there  at  the  King's  com-t ;  but  after  long  suit  there 
also,  he  could  not  get  any  reward  there  to  his  content.  And 
therefore  at  length  he  stole  away  out  of  Spain,  and  came  into 
Italy,  to  go  home  again  and  live  among  his  own  kindred  and 
countrymen,  he  being  very  old. 

"  Also,  he  said,  that  he  thought  the  cause  of  his  ill  reward 
had  of  the  Spaniards,  to  be  for  that  they  did  understand  very 
well  that  the  English  nation  had  now  given  over  all  their  voy. 
ages  for  discovery  of  the  North-west  Passage,  wherefore  they 
need  not  fear  them  any  more  to  come  that  way  into  the  South 
Sea,  and  therefore  they  needed  not  his  service  therein  any 
more. 


li 


n 


if^!} 


IM 


08 


NORTH-WEST    PASSAGE. 


I : 


:•  I 


m. 


T 


)  i .' 


limH 


n!i(^ 


ti 


M' 


i'liliVHi 


"Also,  he  said,  that  tmderstanding  the  nohlc  mind  of  ihc- 
Queen  of  England,  of  her  wars  against  the  Spaniards,  and 
hoping  that  her  majesty  would  do  him  justice  for  his  goods  lost 
by  Captain  Candish,  he  would  be  content  to  go  into  England, 
and  serve  her  majesty  in  that  voyage  for  the  discovery  perfectly 
of  the  north-west  passage  into  the  South  Sea,  if  she  would  fur- 
nish him  with  only  one  ship  of  forty  tons  burthen  and  a  pin- 
nace,  and  that  he  would  perform  it  in  thirty  days  time  from 
one  end  to  the  other  of  the  straits,  and  he  wished  me  so  to 
write  to  England." 

As  this  asserted  discovery  was  one  upon  which  the  Span- 
ish commissioner,  in  the  negotiations  antecedent  to  the  Trea- 
ty of  the  Floridas,  relied  to  support  the  claim  of  the  Spanish 
crown  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  and  as  authors  of 
late  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  respect,  such  as  Fleurieu, 
and  Mr.  Greenhow,  have  inclined  to  admit  the  general  truth 
of  the  account,  the  substantial  part  of  it  has  been  quoted  at 
full  length,  as  it  appears  both  that  Fuca's  narrative,  if  we  ad- 
mit  it  to  be  genuine,  does  not  accord,  in  respect  to  any  sub- 
stantial  fact,  with  the  authentic  reports  of  subsequent  voya- 
ges, and  that  the  object  of  the  fiction  is  patent  on  the  face  of 
the  story. 

The  object  of  the  Greek  pilot  was  evidently  to  obtain,  upon 
the  faith  of  his  narrative,  employment  from  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  as,  from  his  own  statement,  he  was  aware  that  the 
spirit  of  discovery  was  for  the  moment  languid  amongst  the 
English  nation,  he  represented  the  country  as  "  very  fruitful 
and  rich  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  other  things,  like  New 
Spain."  This  exaggeration  of  the  probable  profits  of  the  un- 
dertaking would  not  perhaps  alone  disentitle  the  narrator  to 
credit  in  respect  to  the  other  circumstances  of  his  voyage, 
though  his  integrity  in  making  the  communication  might  there- 
by become  open  to  question :  but  when  we  look  to  the  assert- 
cd  facts  of  his  voyage,  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  which  must 
be  conclusive  is  to  the  character  of  the  narrative  itself,  we 
find  that  they  do  not  correspond  in  any  respect  with  ascer- 
tained facts.  The  straits  to  which  Meares  gave  the  name  of 
Juan  de  Fuca  in  1788,  are  between  the  48th  and  49th  paral- 
lel. Mr.  Greenhow  considers  that  the  difference  in  the  posi- 
tion  is  sufficiently  slight  as  to  be  within  the  limits  of  suppos- 
able  error  en  the  part  of  the  Greek  pilot ;  and  certainly,  if  this 
were  the  only  difficulty,  it  might  not  be  conclusive  against  his 
veracity.     But  the  straits  which  he  professed  to  have  discov- 


I 


^ 


M 


I     .:.r 


4^ 


SILE^•CE    OF    SPANISH    WRITERS. 


69 


nmd  of  the 
niards,  and 
is  goods  lost 
:o  England, 
ry  perfectly 
i  would  fur- 
i  and  a  pin- 
s  time  from 
cd  me  so  to 

fi  the  Span- 
o  the  Trea- 
Ihe  Spanish 
s  authors  of 
IS  Fleurieu, 
aneral truth 
n  quoted  at 
e,  if  we  ad- 
to  any  sub- 
quent  voya- 
i  the  face  of 

btain,  upon 

en  of  Eng. 

ire  that  the 

nongst  the 

ery  fruitful 

like  New 

3  of  the  un- 

narrator  to 

lis  voyage, 

ght  there- 

the  assert- 

hich  must 

itself,  we 

ith  ascer- 

le  name  of 

9th  paral- 

n  the  posi- 

of  suppos- 

inly,  if  this 

against  his 

ve  discov- 


jj 


ercd  were  frorr  r"^  to  40  leagues  wide  at  the  mouth  where  he 


entered,  and  a^''^.ding  to  his  story  he  sailed  through  them  in- 
to  the  North  Sea,  and  upon  the  faith  of  this  he  otlerod  to  per- 
feet  his  discovery  of  the  north-west  passage   into   the  South 
Sea  for  the  Queen  of  England,  and  to  perform  it  in  thirty  days 
time  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  straits.     Now  this  de- 
scription  is  so  totally  at  variance  with  the  real  character  of 
any  straits  on  the  west  coast  of  America,  that  the  happy  co- 
incidence of  trifling  circumstances  can  hardly  be  considered 
sufficient  to  turn  the  scale  in  its  favor.     Amongst  the  latter, 
the  existence  of  a  pillar  has  been  alleged,  as  corresponding 
with  De  Fuca's  account.     Meares,  for  instance,  on  approach- 
ing the  straits  from  the  north,  speaks  "of  a  small  island,  situ- 
ated  about  two  miles  from  the  southern  land,  that  formed  the 
entrance  of  this  strait,  near  which  we  saw  a  very  remarkable 
rock,  that  wore  the  form  of  an  obelisk,  and  stood  at  some 
distance   from  the  island,"  (p.  lo3,)  which,  in  his  Observa- 
tions on  a  North-west  Passage  (p.  Ixi.)  he  seems  to  consider 
to  be  the  pinnacle  rock  of  I)e  Fuca  ;  but  unfortunately  De 
Fuca  has  placed  his  "  island  with  an  exceeding  high  pinna- 
cle or  spiral  rock  "  on  the  north-west  coast,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  strait,  instead   of  on  the  southern  shore.     Vancouver,  on 
entering  the  straits,  failed  himseif  to  recognize  any  rock  as 
corresponding  to  the  pinnacle   rock  which   Mr.  Meares  had 
represented,   but  he  observes  that  a  rock  within  Tatooche's 
Island,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  entrance,  which  is  united 
to  the  main   land  l)y  a  ledge   of  rocks,  over  which   the   sea 
breaks  violently,  was  noticed,  and  supposed  to  be  that  repre- 
sented as  De  Fuca's   pinnacle  rock  :    "  this,  however,  was 
visible  only  for  a  few  minutes,  from   its  being  close  to  the 
shore  of  the   main-land,  instead  of  lying  in  the  entrance  of 
the  straits,  nor  did  it  correspond  with  that  which  has  been  so 
described."     On  the  other  hand,  Lieutenant  Wilkes,  in  his 
Account  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  says,  "In 
leaving  De  Fuca's  Straits,  I  anxiously  watched  for  De  Fuca's 
Pillar,  and  soon  obtained  a  sketch  of  it ;"  but  he  does  not 
state  whether  he  meant  the  pillar  which  Meares  observed  on 
the  southern  side,  and  called  De  Fuca's  Pillar,  or  one  which, 
according  to  the  Greek  pilot,  should  have  formed  a  prominent 
object  on  the  north-western  coast  of  the  strait. 

It  is  not  unimportant  to  observe,  that  there  is  no  Spanish 
writer  who  speaks  of  De  Fuca  or  his  discovery  :  that  neither 
in  any  private  archives  in  Spain,  nor  in  the  pidjlic  archives 

4* 


m 


i 


' 


m 


!  ■ 


.r  it) !  !• 

;  > 
ft' 


70 


HARTOLEME     FONTE. 


0 


'  1.  '■•- 


I  (1 


li! 


Ml 


ii    ■ 


it 

I. 


, 


r 


I      Ml::, 

ii  ■■  '. 


'j'i  f 


!  I 


111 


ii!:! 


!i( 


of  the  Indies  at  Seville,  is  there  any  notice  of  this  celebrated 
navigator  or  of  his  important  expedition,  which  the  author  of 
the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana  ob- 
serves is  the  more  remarkable,  from  the  great  number  of 
other  voyages  and  expeditions  of  the  same  period  preserved  in 
the  archives,  which  have  escaped  the  notice  of  contempora- 
ry writers  ;  and,  what  is  perhaps  still  more  conclusive,  that 
Humboldt,  in  his  account  of  New  Spain,  (1.  iii.,  ch.  viii.,) 
states,  that  in  spite  of  all  his  researches  he  had  not  been  able 
to  find  throughout  New  Spain  a  single  document  in  which  the 
name  of  the  pilot  De  Fuca  occurs. 

The  whole  of  these  latter  observations  apply  with  equal  force 
to  the  voyage  of  Admiral  Bartoleme  Fonte  or  de  Fuentes, 
which  purposes  to  have  been  performed  in  1640  ;  the  narra- 
tive, however,  did  not  make  its  appearance  till  170S,  when  it 
was  published  in  London,  in  two  parts,  in  "  The  Monthly 
Miscellany,  or  Memoirs  of  the  Curious."  The  mode  in  which 
it  was  ushered  into  public  notice  would  alone  be  sufficient  to 
expose  it  to  considerable  suspicion,  and  the  gross  absurdities 
with  which  it  is  replete  would  have  Pt  once  exempted  it  from 
any  serious  criticism,  had  not  the  Spanish  commissioner,  in 
the  negotiations  already  alluded  to,  and  of  which  a  full  ac- 
count will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  place,  rested  upon  it  the 
territorial  title  of  Spain  to  the  north-west  coast,  up  to  55°  of 
north  latitude.  Fonte,  according  to  the  narrative,  sailed  with 
four  vessels  from  Callao  into  the  North  Pacific,  with  orders 
from  the  Viceroy  of  Peru  to  intercept  certain  vessels  which 
had  sailed  from  Boston  in  New  England,  with  the  object  of 
exploring  a  north-west  passage.  On  arriving  at  C.  St.  Lucas, 
at  the  south  point  of  California,  he  despatched  one  of  his  ves- 
sels "  to  discover  whether  California  was  an  island  or  not, 
(for  before,  it  was  not  known  whether  it  was  an  island  or  a 
peninsula.")  He  thence  coasted  along  California  to  26°  of 
north  latitude,  and  having  a  steady  gale  from  the  S.S.E.,  in 
the  interval  between  May  26,  and  June  14,  "  he  reached  the 
River  los  Reyes  in  53°  of  north  latitude,  not  having  occasion 
to  lower  a  top-sail  in  sailing  866  leagues  N.N.W.,  410 
leagues  from  Port  Abel  to  C.  Blanco,  456  leagues  to  Rio  de 
los  Reyes,  having  sailed  about  260  leagues  in  crooked  chan- 
nels, amongst  islands  named  the  Archipelagus  de  St.  Lazarus, 
where  his  ships'  boats  always  sailed  a  mile  a-head,  sounding, 
to  see  what  water,  rocks,  and  sands  there  was."  "They  had 
two  Jesuits  with  them,  that  had  been  on  their  mission  at  66^ 


-i 


^ili 


1  ( 


DE    l'iSLE    and    IJUACIIE. 


71 


celebrated 
le  author  of 
3xicana  ob- 
number  of 
reserved  in 
ontempora- 
lusive,  that 
,  eh.  viii.,) 

been  able 
I  which  the 

equal  force 

B  Fuentes, 

the  narra- 

•8,  when  it 

e  Monthly 

e  in  which 

ufficient  to 

absurdities 

ted  it  from 

ssioner,  in 

a  full  ac« 

pon  it  the 

to  55°  of 

ailed  with 

orders 

els  which 

object  of 

5t.  Lucas, 

f  his  ves- 

id  or  not, 

and  or  a 

to  26°  of 

.S.E.,  in 

Lched  the 

occasion 

W.,  410 

0  Rio  de 

d  chan- 

Lazarus, 

ounding, 

^hey  had 

n  at  6(P 


of  N.L.,  and  had  made  curious  observations."     Fontc  ascend- 
ed the  Rio  de  los  Reyes  in  his  ships  to  a  large  lake,  which 
he  called  Lake  IJello.     Here,  he  says,  he  loft  his  vessels  and 
proceeded  down  another  river,  passing  eight  falls,  in  all  3?. 
feet  perpendiculai",  into  a  large  lake  which  he  named  Do 
Fonte.     Thence  he  sailed  out  through  the  Estrecho  de  Ron- 
quillo  into  the  sea,  where  they  found  a  large  ship  where  the 
natives  had  never  seen  one  before,  from  a  town  called  Boston, 
the  master  of  wiiich.  Captain  Shaply,  told  him  that  his  owner 
was  "a  (ine  gentleman,  and  major-general  of  the  largest  col- 
ony in  New  England,  called  the  Maltechusets."     Having  ex- 
changed  all  sorts  of  civilities   and  presents  with  this  gen- 
tleman, the   admiral  went  back  to  his   ships  in  Lake  Belle, 
and  returned  by  the  Rio  do  los  Reyes  to  the  South  Sea.     One 
of  his  otlicers  had  in  the  mean  time  ascended  another  river, 
which  he  named  Rio  de  Haro,  in  the  lake  Velasco,  in  61°, 
whence  he  sailed  in  Indian  boats  as  far  north  as  77°.     Hero 
he  ascertained  that  there  was  no  communication  out  of  the 
Spanish  or  Atlantic  Sea  by  Davis'  Straits,  from  one  of  his  own 
seamen,  who  had  been  conducted  by  the  natives  to  the  head 
of  Davis'  Strait,  which  terminated  in  a  fresh  lake  of  about 
30  miles  in  circumference,  in  hO°  N.L.     He  himself  in  the 
meantime  had  sailed  as  far  north  as  79°,  and  then  the  land 
trended  north,  and  the  ice  rested  on  the  land.     The  result  of 
this  expedition  was,  that  they  returned  home,  "  having  found 
there  was  no  passage  into  the  South  Seas  by  what  they  call 
the  North-west  Passage." 

Such  is  the  substance  of  this  rather  dull  story,  which  may 
be  read  in  full  in  the  third  volume  of  Burney's  History  of 
Voyages  in  the  South  Sea,  p.  190.  Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  84) 
observes,  that  "  the  account  is  very  confused  and  badly  writ- 
ten, and  is  filled  with  absurdities  and  contradictions,  which 
should  have  prevented  it  from  receiving  credit  at  any  time 
since  its  appearance :  yet,  as  will  be  shown,  it  was  seriously 
examined  and  defended,  so  recently  as  in  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  by  scientific  men  of  great  eminence,  and  some 
faith  continued  to  be  attached  to  it  for  many  years  afterwards." 

Amongst  its  defenders  the  most  conspicuous  were  J.  N.  de 
risle,  the  brother  of  William  de  I'lsle,  and  Philippe  Buache, 
the  geographer  of  the  French  King,  the  predecessor  of  J.  N. 
Buache,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  the  author  of  a 
memoir  in  defence  of  Maldonado's  narrative.  De  I'Isle  pre- 
sented to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  in  1750,  a  memoir  "  sur  les 


ii- 


,.)! 


P 


Til 


I 


w 


72 


VAUGONDY  S    REPLY. 


■    I  1  I 


i\..v. 


ii 


v\ 


1^ 


Iv 


nouvellcs  decouvertes  au  nord  de  la  mer  du  Sud,"  with  a  map 
prepared  by  Ph.  Buache,  to  represent  these  discoveries.  The 
coinmunication  Avas  in  other  respects  of  great  importance,  as 
it  contained  tie  first  authentic  account  of"  the  discoveries  late- 
ly made  by  Behring  and  Tchiricoll)  in  1741.  It  is  not  stated 
from  what  source  De  I'lsle  derived  the  copy  of  Fonte's  letter, 
■which  seems  to  have  come  into  his  possession  accidentally  at 
St.  Petersburg,  during  the  absence  of  the  Russian  expedition  : 
it  was  not,  however,  till  his  return  to  France  in  1747,  that  he 
examined  it  in  company  with  Ph.  liuache.  They  were  agree- 
ably surprised  to  find  that  it  accorded  with  Buache's  own  con- 
jectures,  that  it  harmonised  in  many  respects  with  the  discov- 
eries of  the  Russians.  In  consequence,  Buache  laid  down 
in  his  new  map  a  water  communication  between  the  Pacific 
Ocean  and  Hudson's  Bay.  Voltaire,  relying  on  the  authority 
of  De  I'lslc,  maintained  in  his  History  of  Russia,  published  in 
1759,  that  the  famous  passage  so  long  sought  for  had  been  at 
last  discovered.  The  Academy,  however,  received  Fonte's 
narrative  with  discreet  reserve  ;  and  observed,  that  it  required 
more  certain  proofs  to  substantiate  it. 

The  author  of  the  Introduction  to  the  Voyage  of  the  Sutil 
and  Mexicana  states,  that  the  Spanish  government,  on  the 
representation  of  the  French  geographers,  instituted  a  careful 
search  into  the  archives  of  the  Indies  in  New  Spain,  as  well 
as  into  the  archives  of  Peru,  and  likewise  into  the  archives  at 
Seville,  Madrid,  Cadiz,  and  other  places,  but  that  not  the 
slightest  allusion  to  De  Fonte  could  be  anywhere  traced. 
This  result  was  made  known  by  Robert  de  Vaugondy,  in  his 
reply  to  Buache,  intitled  "  Oljservations  Critiques  sur  les 
nouvelles  Decouvertes  de  I'Amiral  Fuentes,  8vo.  1753  ;" 
and  the  author  of  the  Noticia  di  California,  published  in  Ma- 
drid, in  1757,  confirmed  Vaugondy's  announcement. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  observe,  that  the  experience  of  subse- 
quent navigators  has  failed  to  confirm  the  narrative  of  De 
Fonte.  There  is  one  passage  in  the  narrative  which  seems 
almost  of  itself  to  be  sufficient  to  condemn  the  story.  The 
admiral  is  made  to  state,  "  that  he  despatched  one  of  his  ves- 
sels to  discover  whether  California  was  an  island  or  not ;  for 
before  it  was  not  known  whether  California  was  an  island  or 
a  peninsula."  Now  the  Californian  Gulf  had  been  complete- 
ly explored  by  Francisco  de  Ulloa,  in  1539,  who  ascertained 
the  fact  of  the  junction  of  the  peninsula  to  the  main  land,  near 
the  32d  degree  of  latitude  ;  and  again  by  Fernando  de  Alar- 


I 


■^ 


Ii 


GE  ^ORAPUY    OF    CALIFORMA. 


73 


*:■" 


ith  a  map 
ics.  The 
rtance,  as 
3ries  late- 
not  stated 
:e's  letter, 
lentally  at 
cpedition : 
7,  that  he 
;re  agree- 

own  con- 
le  discov- 
aid  down 
lie  Pacific 

authority 
Wished  in 
d  been  at 
J  Fonte's 
t  required 

the  Sutil 
it,  on  the 
a  careful 
I,  as  well 
chives  at 
not  the 
traced. 
r^  in  his 
sur  les 
1753  ;" 
in  Ma- 

' subse- 
e  of  De 
seems 
The 
his  ves- 
not ;  for 
sland  or 
smplete- 
ertained 
nd,  near 
ie  Alar- 


h 


:tf: 


¥ 


^t 


:1 


con,  in  1510,  who  ascended  a  great  river  at  the  head  of  the 
(riilfcjf  California,  supposed  to  be  the  Colorado.  A  series  of 
exrellent  charts  were  drawn  up  by  Domingo  del  Castillo, 
Alarcon's  pilot,  a  facsimile  of  which  Mr.  Creenhow  (p.  01) 
states  may  be  found  in  the  edition  of  the  letters  of  Cortez, 
published  at  Mexico  in  1770,  by  Archbishop  Lorenzana. 
The  shores  of  the  gulf,  and  of  the  west  side  of  California,  to 
the  {JOth  degree  of  latitude,  were  there  delineated  with  a  sur- 
prising  approach  of  accuracy.  It  is  not  a  reasonable  suppo- 
sition  that  the  Admiral  of  New  Spain  a!id  Peru,  who  must 
have  had  ready  access  to  the  archives  of  the  Indies  at  Mexico, 
should  have  expressed  himself  in  a  maimer  which  argued  a  to- 
tal ignorance  of  the  previous  discoveries  of  his  countrymen  ; 
but  it  was  very  probable  that  a  contributor  to  the  Montiily 
Miscellany  should  stumble  upon  this  ground,  from  a  notion 
having  been  revived  in  Einope,  about  the  middle  of  the  17th 
century,  that  Calitbrnia  was  an  island. 

Humboldt,  in  his  Essai  Politique  sur  la  Nouvellc  Espagne, 
1.  iii.,  c.  viii.,  states,  that  when  the  Jesuits  Kiihn,  Salvatierra, 
and  Ugarte,  explored,  in  detail,  during  the  years  1701-21, 
the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  it  was  thought  in  Eu- 
rope to  have  been  for  the  first  time  discovered  that  California 
was  a  peninsula.  IJut,  in  his  Introduction  Gcographique, 
he  observes,  that  in  the  sixteenth  century  no  person  in  Mex- 
ico denied  this  fact ;  nor  was  it  till  the  seventeenth  century 
that  the  idea  originated  that  California  was  an  island.  Dur- 
ing the  seventeenth  century,  the  Dutch  freebooters  were 
amongst  the  most  active  and  inveterate  enemies  of  Spain  in 
the  New  World  ;  and  having  established  themselves  in  the 
bay  of  Pichilingue,  on  the  east  coast  of  California,  from 
which  circumstance  they  recei\ed  the  name  of  "Pichilin- 
gucs,"  they  caused  great  euibarrassment  to  the  Spanish  vice- 
roys from  their  proximity  to  the  coasts  of  Mexico,  To  these 
adventurers  the  origin  of  the  notion,  that  California  was  sepa- 
rated  from  tiie  main  land,  has  been  referred  by  some  authors  ; 
but  Mr.  (Jreenhow  (p.  94)  states,  that  it  was  to  be.traced  to  the 
captain  of  a  Manilla  ship,  in  1620,  who  reported  that  the  as- 
serted river  of  D'Aguilar  was  the  western  mouth  of  a  chan- 
nel  which  separated  the  northern  extremity  of  California  from 
the  main  land.  A  survey  of  the  lower  part  of  the  peninsula 
was  executed  by  the  Governor  of  Cinaloa,  and  the  Jesuit  Ja- 
cinto Cortes,  in  pursuance  of  the  orders  of  the  Duke  of  Esca- 
lona,  who  was  Viceroy  daring  1640-42,  about  the  very  time 


ii 


I 


I 

:  1/ 


* 

Hi 

1 

1 

It 

nil 


)jM^ 


\4 


74 


VARIATIONS   IN   MAPS. 


when  Fonte  purported  to  have  sailed.  They  did  not,  how. 
ever,  go  to  the  head  of  the  gulf;  and  Humboldt  informs  us, 
that,  during  the  feeble  reign  of  Charles  II.  of  Spain,  1655- 
1700,  several  writers  had  begun  to  regard  California  as  a 
cluster  of  large  islands,  under  the  name  of"  Islas  Carolinas." 
Thus  we  find  in  the  maps  of  this  period,  in  those  for  example 
of  Sanson,  Paris,  1650  ;  of  Du  Val,  geographer  to  the  King 
of  France,  Abbeville,  1655 ;  of  Jenner,  London,  1666  ;  of 
De  Wit,  Amsterdam ;  of  Vischer,  Schenkius,  Herman,  Moll, 
and  others,  which  are  in  the  King's  Library  at  the  British 
Museum,  California  is  depicted  as  an  island  ;  and  in  Jenner's 
Map,  in  which  C.  Blanco  is  the  northernmost  headland  of 
California,  there  is  this  note  : — "  This  California  was  in  times 
past  thought  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  continent,  and  so 
made  in  all  maps ;  but,  by  further  discoveries,  was  found  to 
be  an  island,  long  1700  leagues." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  maps  of  the  later  part  of  the  six- 
teenth,  and  the  earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth  centuries,  such 
as  those  by  Ortelius,  the  King  of  Spain's  geographer,  pub. 
lished  in  his  Theatrum  Orbis  Terrarum,  first  edited  in  1570, 
the  two  maps  adopted  by  Hakluyt  in  the  respective  editions 
of  his  voyages,  in  1589  and  1600,  that  of  Le  Clerc,  1602,  of 
Hondius,  which  Purchas  adopted  in  his  Pilgrims,  in  1625,  of 
Speed,  1646,  and  that  of  Blaew  in  his  Novus  Atlas  of  1648, 
agree  in  representing  California  as  a  peninsula.  The  single 
passage,  therefore,  in  De  Fonte's  account,  in  which  he,  being 
"  then  admiral  of  New  Spain  and  Peru,  and  now  prince  (or 
rather  president)  of  Chili,  explicitly  states  that  he  despatched 
one  of  his  vessels,  under  the  command  of  Don  Diego  Penne- 
losa,  the  nephew  of  Don  Luis  de  Haro,"  then  great  minister 
of  Spain,  "  to  discover  whether  California  was  an  island  or 
not,  for  before  it  was  not  known  whether  it  was  an  island  or 
a  peninsula,"  seems  to  point  at  once  to  the  European  origin 
of  the  tale.  Mr.  Dalrymple,  the  well-known  secretary  of  the 
British  Admiralty  at  the  time  of  the  Nootka  Sound  contro- 
versy, who  was  distinguished  as  the  author  of  many  able 
works  on  maritime  discoveries,  considered  the  story  to  have 
been  a  jeu-d'esprit  of  Mr.  James  Petiver  the  naturalist,  one 
of  the  contributors  to  the  Monthly  Miscellany,  whose  taste 
for  such  subjects  was  evinced  by  his  collection  of  MS.  ex- 
tracts, since  preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  and  whose 
talent  for  such  kind  of  composition  was  shown  by  his  Ac- 
count of  a  Voyage  to  the  Levant,  published  in  the  same  Mis- 


f  • 


4 


m 

■•/« 


A 

'■'h 

% 


did  not,  how. 
Idt  informs  us, 

Spain,  1655- 
!alifornia  as  a 
as  Carolinas." 
56  for  example 
jr  to  the  King 
ion,  1666;  of 
Herman,  Moll, 

at  the  British 
nd  in  Jenner's 
;t  headland  of 
a  was  in  times 
itinent,  and  so 
,  was  found  to 

art  of  the  six- 
jenturies,  such 
)grapher,  pub- 
dited  in  1570, 
ective  editions 
:ierc,  1602,  of 
IS,  in  1625,  of 
Vtlas  of  1648, 
.  The  single 
lich  he,  being 
ow  prince  (or 
he  despatched 
)iego  Penne- 
ireat  minister 
an  island  or 
an  island  or 


PETIVER    TUE    NATURALIST. 


76 


cellany.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  tale  of  De  Fuca 
and  the  letter  of  De  Fonte,  as  they  have  derived  their  origin, 
so  they  have  derived  their  support,  from  writers  foreign  to  the 
nation  in  whose  favour  they  set  up  the  asserted  discoveries, 
and  from  them  alone.  Maldonado,  it  is  true,  was  a  Spaniard, 
but  he  likewise  has  found  defenders  only  amongst  strangers, 
whilst  in  his  own  country  his  narrative  has  been  condemned 
as  an  imposture  by  posterity  equally  as  by  his  cotempo* 
raries. 


I 

'■    ■* 


M  *.: 


•  X ' 


m. 


^ri 


7fl 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  TIIK  ESCURIAL. 


;h  ': 


iiii 


M^' 


i 


The  King  fJcorgc's  Sound  Company,  in  1785. — Dixon  and  Portlock  — 
The  Nootkaand  Sea  Otter. — The  Captain  Cook  and  Expirimont. — E.x- 
pcdition  of  Captain  Hanna  under  the  Portuguese  Flap. — The  Fehce  and 
Iphigenia. — The  Princesa  and  San  Carlos,  in  1768. — ^Martinez  and 
Ilaro  directed  to  occupy  Nootka  in  1789. — Tlie  Princess  Royal  ar- 
rives  at  Nootka. — Coluett  arrives  in  the  Argonaut,  July  2,  17B1),  with 
instructions  to  found  a  Factory. — lie  is  seized,  with  his  Vessel,  by 
Martinez. — The  Princess  Royal  also  seized. — Both  vessels  sent  as 
Prizes  to  San  Ulas — The  Columbia  and  Washington  allowed  to  depart. 
— Representation  of  the  Spanish  Government  to  the  Court  of  London. 
— British  Reply.— Memorial  of  Captain  Mcares. — Message  of  the  Bri. 
tish  Crown  to  Parliament. — British  Note  of  May  5,  171)0,  to  the  Spa. 
nish  Minister  in  London. — British  Memorial  of  May  1 G. — Memorial  of 
the  Court  of  Spain,  July  13. — Declaration  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  to 
all  the  Courts  of  Europe. — Treaty  of  Utrccnt. — Declaration  and  Coun. 
tcr  declaration  of  July  4. — Spain  demands  aid  from  France,  according 
to  the  Family  Compact  of  1761. — The  National  Assembly  promotes  a 
peaceful  Adjustment  of  the  Dispute. — Convemlon  between  Spain  and 
Great  Britain  signed  at  the  Eecurial,  Oct.  iJd,  179U, — Recognition  of 
the  Claims  of  Great  Britain. 


1 


i    ' ' 
I  i 


m 


>  I 


It  has  been  already  observed,  that  no  British  subject  could 
trade  to  the  west  of  Cape  Horn  without  a  licence  from  the 
South  Sea  Company,  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  east- 
ward  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  the  East  India  Company 
possessed  an  exclusive  monopoly  of  commerce.  Thus  the 
mercantile  association  which  assumed  the  name  of  the  King 
George's  Sound  Company,  and  which  despatched  two  vessels 
under  Dixon  and  Portlock  from  England  in  the  autumn  of 
1785,  had  found  it  necessary  to  obtain  licences  from  the  South 
Sea  Company  for  them  to  proceed  by  way  of  Cape  Horn, 
and  they  had  likewise  entered  into  an  arrangement  with  the 
East  India  Company  to  carry  their  furs  to  Canton,  and  there 
exchange  them  for  teas  and  other  products  of  China,  to  be 
conveyed  in  their  turn  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Eng- 
land. These  vessels  sailed  under  the  British  flag.  With  a 
similar  object,  two  vessels,  the  Nootka,  under  Captain  Meares, 
and  the  Sea  Otter,  under  Captain  Tipping,  were,  by  an  asso- 


KlXn    GEOROK  S    SOUND    TOMPANV. 


and  Portlock  — 
xpirimrnt. — Ex- 
— Tlic  I'Vlicc  and 
. — IVIartincz  and 
nccps  Royal  ar- 
ily2,  1781),  with 
1  his  Vessel,  by 
vessels  sent  as 
lUowcd  to  depart, 
Jourt  of  London, 
isagc  of  tlic  Bri. 
1790,  to  the  Spa. 
G. — Memorial  of 
lolic  Majesty  to 
ration  and  Coun. 
ranee,  according 
nbly  promotes  a 
ween  Spain  and 
-Recognition  of 


subject  could 

nee  from  the 

,  to  the  east- 

dia  Company 

Thus  the 

of  the  King 

J  two  vessels 

e  autumn  of 

om  the  South 

Ca[)e  Horn, 

lent  with  the 

)n,  and  there 

China,  to  be 

lope  to  Eng- 


W'. 


elation  uiuh^r  the  patrnnaffo  of  the  (lovornor  CciuMal  of  In- 
dia,  early  in  I78t1,  despatched  from  Caieutla,  inider  the  Ihij; 
of  the  i"in<i;lish  ICast  India  Company,  whilst  the  Captain  (yook 
and  tin-  I'iXperiment  sail(>d  from  liombay  for  the  same  desti- 
nation. An  attempt,  however,  had  been  made  by  the  Hritish 
n.ereliants  in  the  preceding;  year,  to  or<ianise  a  trade  between 
North-west  America  and  China,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Portiiifiiese  llafj,  so  as  to  evade  the  excessive  harlxiur  dues 
demanded  by  tlu^  Chinese  authorities  fro'  >  other  lMn*o|)ean 
nations,  by  means  of  licences  <frante(l  by  the  l'orlii<ruese  au- 
thorities at  Macao.  'J'he  lirst  expedition  of  this  kind  was 
made  by  Captain  Ilamia,  in  1785,  and  was  m(»st  successful 
as  a  couunercial  speculation.  In  a  similar  manner,  in  17S8, 
some  IJritish  UKM-chants  reaidin;:;  in  India  iitted  out  the  Felice 
and  Iphigenia  for  this  trade,  and  through  (he  interest  of  Juan 
Cavallo,  a  Portuguese  merchant  who  had  resided  for  niany 
years  at  Hoinbay  as  a  naturalised  IJritish  subject,  and  traded 
from  that  |)Iace  under  the  protection  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany,  obtained  from  the  Governor  of  3Iacao  permission  lor 
them  to  navigate  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  if  f)und  conve- 
nient.  Meares  in  his  memorial  states,  that  Cavallo  merely 
lent  his  name  to  the  firm,  and  that  he  had  no  real  interest  in 
the  Iphigenia,  as  on  his  subsecpient  bankruptcy  the  claims  of 
his  creditors  were  successfully  resisted,  and  the  Iphigenia 
consecjuently  lost  the  privileges  which  she  had  hitherto  en- 
joyed in  the  ports  of  China,  in  her  character  of  a  Portuguese 
ship.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  obligation  which  Martinez 
exacted  from  the  master  and  supercargo  of  the  Iphigonia, 
Cavallo  is  si)oken  of  as  the  lawful  owner  of  the  vessel  in 
whose  name  they  botmd  themselves.  It  is  possible  however 
that  they  may  have  bound  the  ostensible  owner  on  purpose  to 
defeat  the  object  of  the  Spanish  commander,  instead  of  the 
real  owners  ;  and  assuredly  the  instructions  of  the  Merchant 
Proprietors  to  Captain  Meares,  "commanding  the  Felice  and 
Iphigenia,"  se(^m  to  be  at  variance  with  the  fact  of  Cavallo 
being  the  real  owner,  as  they  are  addressed  to  him  evidently 
not  in  the  mere  character  of  supercargo,  but  as  having  the 
complete  control  of  the  vessels,  which  are  expressly  stated  to 
have  been  fitted  out  and  equipped  by  the  Merchant  J'r  iprie- 
tors  :  and  IMeares  is  directed  to  defend  his  vessel  against  all 
attempts  of  Russian,  English,  or  Spanish  vessels  to  seize  it  ; 
to  protest,  if  captured,  against  the  seizure  of  his  vessel  ami 
cargo ;  and  to  take  possession  of  any  vcasel  that  attacked 


>  L 
t 


\i 


'I 


■1 


•I 


78 


TiiK  MEHciiANT  ruoriunToia. 


■IP 


,'] 


■ill 


him,  as  niso  hor  carpfo,  in  case  hn  should  havotlie  superiority 
in  the  conllict.     (Ai)j)i'n(lix  to  Mearcs'  V()yaji;o.) 

To  tho  saino  eiruct,  tlio  orders  of  Captain  Moarcs  to  Cap- 
tain J)oii^Ias,  of  the  I[)hijfenia,  sooni  to  bo  conchisive  tliatthe 
latter  had  tidl  control  over  the  vessel.  "  Siioidd  you,"  it  is 
observed,  "  in  the  course  of  your  voya^^e,  meet  with  the  ves- 
sels of  any  other  nation,  you  will  have  as  little  communica- 
lion  with  them  as  possible.  If  they  Ije  of  superior  force,  and 
desire  to  see  your  papers,  you  will  show  them.  You  will, 
however,  be  on  your  «^uard  against  surprise.  Should  they  be 
either  Russian,  Knglish,  Spanish,  or  any  other  ^nvilised  na- 
tion, and  are  authorised  to  examine  your  papers,  you  will  per- 
mit them,  and  treat  them  M'ith  civility  and  friendship.  But 
at  the  same  time  you  must  be  on  your  guard.  Should  they 
attempt  to  seize  you,  or  even  carry  you  out  of  your  way,  you 
will  prevent  it  by  every  means  in  your  power,  and  repel  force 
by  force." 

Captain  Douglas,  moreover,  was  directed  to  note  down 
the  good  behaviour  of  his  olHcers  and  crew,  and  thus  afford 
his  employers  a  medium  to  distinguish  merit  from  worthless- 
ness.  "This  log-book,"  they  go  on  to  state,  "  is  to  be  signed 
by  yourself.  On  your  return  to  China  you  will  seal  up  your 
log-book,  charts,  plans,  &c.,  &c.,  and  forward  them  to  Daniel 
Beale,  Esq.,  of  Canton,  who  is  the  ostensible  agent  for  the 
concern  ;  and  you  have  the  most  particular  injunctions  not  to 
communicate  or  give  copies  of  any  charts  or  plans  that  you 
may  make,  as  your  employers  assert  a  right  to  all  of  them, 
and  as  such  will  claim  them." 

The  person  to  whom  such  instructions  were  addressed  must 
evidently  have  had  the  control  of  the  vessel,  and  not  been 
merely  in  charge  of  the  cargo.  It  has  been,  however,  rightly 
observed  by  Mr.  Greenhow,  that  the  papers  on  board  the 
Iphigenia,  when  seized  by  Martinez,  were  written  in  the  Por- 
tuguese language,  which  Captain  Douglas  did  not  under- 
stand, and  therefore  could  not  well  act  upon.  The  reply  to 
this  seems  to  be,  that  Douglas  himself  acted  upon  the  letter 
of  Captain  Meares,  inserted  in  the  Appendix  to  Meares'  Voy- 
ages,  which  embodied  in  English  the  substance  of  the  gene- 
ral instructions  drawn  up  for  the  expedition  in  Portuguese  ; 
and  that  the  ship's  papers  were  in  the  Portuguese  language 
to  support  her  assumed  Portuguese  character.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  there  was  some  deception  in  the  transaction,  but 


.1 


I  A 


I 


13 


* 


V. 


nnnisn  colours  hoisted  at  nootka. 


79 


le  superiority 


m 
f 


tlip  deception  seems  to  have  been  directed  rather  ngainst  tho 
Chinese  than  the  Spaniards. 

Whatever  may  have  hren  the  character  wliich  was  sought 
to  l»e  given  to  the  Felice  and  I|)higenia,  Meares  appears  on 
landing  at  Nootka  to  have  avowed  hi.s  British  character,  by 
hoisting  liritish  colours  upon  the  house  which  he  l)uilt  on 
ground  granted  to  him  iiy  iMafpiillfi,  the  chief  of  the  neigh- 
l)ouring  district,  as  well  as  by  displaying  the  English  ensign 
on  the  vessel  which  he  constructed  and  launched  at  Nootka. 
It  was  his  intenticjn  to  employ  this  vessel,  a  sloop  of  about 
forty  tons,  exclusively  on  the  ct)ast  of  America,  in  exploring 
new  trading  stations,  and  in  collecting  furs  to  be  conveyed  by 
the  other  vessels  to  the  Chinese  markets.  It  was  named  tho 
North. west  America,  and  was  manned  by  a  crew  of  seven 
British  subjects  and  three  natives  of  China. 

Meares,  having  left  the  Iphigeniaand  North-west  America 
to  carry  on  the  trade  on  the  American  coast,  returned  with  a 
cargo  of  furs  to  Macao,  in  December  1768,  and  having  there 
sold  tho  Felice,  associated  himself  with  some  merchants  of 
London,  who  had  embarked  in  this  commerce  under  licences 
from  the  East  India  and  South  Sea  Companies.  Two  of  their 
vessels,  under  Dixon  and  Portlock,  which  have  already  been 
alluded  to,  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Royal,  had  just 
arrived  at  Canton  from  the  north-west  coast  of  America. 
Meares,  apprehending  that  mutual  loss  would  result  from  com- 
petition, entered  into  a  formal  agreement  with  Mr.  John 
Etches,  the  supercargo  of  the  two  ships,  making  a  joint  stock 
of  all  the  vessels  and  property  employed  in  that  trade.  The 
new  firm  immediately  purchased  an  additional  ship,  named 
the  Argonaut,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  being  chartered  with 
a  cargo  of  tea  to  England  by  the  East  India  Company,  the 
Princess  Royal  and  the  Argonaut  were  ordered  to  sail  to 
Nootka  Sound  under  the  command  of  Captain  Colnett  and 
Captain  Hudson.  It  is  indisputable  that  these  vessels  were 
sailing  under  the  British  flag,  and  from  the  instructions  de- 
livered  to  Captain  Colnett,  the  Iphigenia  and  North-west 
America  were  henceforward  to  be  under  his  orders,  and  to 
trade  on  account  of  the  Company.  He  was  accordingly  di- 
rected to  send  home  Captain  Douglas  in  the  Argonaut,  and 
to  receive  from  him  the  Iphigenia  and  North-west  America, 
shifting  their  crews,  &c. 

"  We  also  authorise  you,"  the  instructions  go  on  to  state, 
"  to  dismiss  from  your  service  all  persons  who  shall  refuse  to 


*,.! 


! 


.f 


-I 


m 


I , ; ' 


.liM^-l'l :! 


80 


MARTINEZ    AND    IIARO. 


S'P 


S^Ml;liii 


.>^  Hi 


fv 


ii!; 


llil 

i 


obey  your  orders,  when  they  are  for  our  hcnefit,  and  in  this 
case  we  give  you  to  understand,  the  Princess  Royal,  America, 
and  other  small  craft,  are  always  to  continue  on  the  coast  of 
America.  Their  officers  and  people,  when  the  time  of  their 
service  is  up,  must  be  embarked  in  the  returning  ship  to  Chi- 
na, and  on  no  account  whatever  will  we  suffer  a  deviation 
from  these  orders." 

I'henceforward,  it  appears,  that  the  Iphigenia  and  North- 
west America  would  be  considered  as  sailing  under  the  same 
character  as  the  other  vessels  of  this  Company. 

The  steady  advance  of  the  Russian  establishments  along 
the  north-west  shores  of  the  Pacific,  which  had  become  noto- 
rious from  the  publication  of  Captain  Cook's  journals,  could 
not  but  cause  great  anxiety  to  the  Spanish  government.  An 
expedition  of  inquiry  was  in  consequence  sent  northward  from 
the  port  of  San  Bias  in  17SS,  consisting  of  two  vessels,  the 
Princesa  and  San  Carlos,  under  the  command  of  Esteban 
Jose  Martinez  and  Gonzalo  Lopez  do  Haro.  They  were  in- 
structed to  proceed  directly  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  to 
visit  the  various  factories  of  the  Russians  in  that  neighbour- 
hood. Having  executed  their  commission,  they  returned  to 
San  Bias  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  and  reported  the 
results  of  their  voyage  to  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico.  Martinez 
brought  back  the  information  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
Russians  to  found  a  settlement  at  Nootka.  The  Court  of 
Madrid  in  consequence  addressed  a  remonstrance  to  the  Em- 
peror  of  Russia  against  the  encroachments  upon  the  territo- 
ries  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  which  were  assumed  to  extend 
northward  up  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  the  Viceroy  of 
Mexico  in  the  mean  time  took  measures  to  prevent  the  exe- 
cution  of  any  such  schemes.  W^ith  this  object  he  despatched 
Martinez  and  Haro  in  1789,  with  instructions  to  occupy  the 
port  of  Nootka  by  right  of  the  prior  discoA^ery  of  Perez  in 
1774,  to  treat  any  Russian  or  English  vessels  that  might  be 
there  with  the  courtesy  which  the  amicable  relations  between 
the  several  nations  required,  but  to  manifest  to  them  the  para- 
mount  rights  of  Spain  to  make  establishments  there,  and  by 
inference  to  prevent  all  foreign  establishments  which  might 
be  prejudicial  to  Spanish  interests. 

The  Princesa  sailed  in*o  Nootka  Sound  on  the  6th  of  May 
1789,  and  found  the  Iphigenia  at  Friendly  Cove.  The  San 
Carlos  joined  her  consort  on  the  13th.  The  Columbia  mer- 
chantman, of  the  United  States  of  America,  was  lying  at  an- 


m 


■■i\ 


II 


'i 


SEIZURE    OF    THE    ARGONAUT. 


81 


t,  and  in  this 
■al,  America, 
I  the  coast  of 
time  of  their 
ship  to  Chi- 
a  deviation 

and  North - 
ler  the  same 

ments  along 
ecome  noto- 
irnals,  could 
nment.     An 
•thward  from 
vessels,  the 
of  Esteban 
ley  were  in- 
ound,  and  to 
neighbour, 
returned  to 
'eported  the 
Martinez 
ition  of  the 
e  Court  of 
to  the  Em. 
the  territo. 
I  to  extend 
Viceroy  of 
it  the   exe- 
despatched 
occupy  the 
Perez  in 
might  be 
s  between 
1  the  para, 
re,  and  by 
ich  might 

of  May 
The  San 
tibia  mer- 
ing  at  an- 


I 

I 
,1 


Iff 


chor  at  no  great  distance.  Mutual  civilities  passed  between 
the  difibrent  vessels  till  the  15th,  when  Martinez  took  posses, 
sion  of  the  Iphigenia,  and  transferred  her  captain  and  crew 
as  prisoners  to  his  own  vessels.  He  subsequently  allowed 
the  Iphigenia  to  depart,  upon  an  obligation  being  signed  by 
the  captain  and  supercargo  on  behalf  of  Juan  Cavallo  of 
Macao,  as  the  owner,  to  satisfy  all  demands,  in  case  the  Vice, 
roy  of  Spain  should  pronounce  her  to  be  a  prize,  on  account 
of  navigating  or  anchoring  in  seas  orports  belonging  tothe  do. 
minion  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  without  his  permission.  Captain 
Kendrick  of  the  Columbia,  and  Ingraham  his  first  pilot,  were 
called  in  to  witness  this  agreement.  The  Iphigenia  was  re. 
leased  on  the  1st  of  June,  and  sailed  away  directly  to  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island.  On  the  8th,  the  North-west  Ameri(;a arrived 
from  a  trading  voyage  along  the  southern  coasts,  and  was  im- 
mediately taken  jjossession  of i)y Martinez.  A  fewdays  after, 
wards  the  Princess  Royal  arrived  from  Macao,  bringing  in- 
telligence  of  the  failure  of  the  house  of  Cavallo,  in  conse. 
quence  of  which  Martinez  hoisted  Spanish  colours  on  board 
of  the  North.west  America,  and  employed  her  to  trade  along 
the  coast  upon  his  own  account. 

The  Princess  Royal  was  not  however  molested  by  him, 
but,  on  the  2d  of  July,  her  consort  the  Argonaut  arrived  with 
Captain  ('olnett,  who,  upon  hearing  of  the  treatment  of  the 
Iphigenia  and  the  iNortli-wcst  America,  hesitated  at  first  to 
enter  the  Sound.  His  instructions  were  to  found  a  factory,  to 
be  called  Fort  Pitt,  in  the  most  convenient  station  which  he 
might  select,  for  the  purpose  of  a  permanent  settlement,  and 
as  a  centre  of  trade,  round  which  other  stations  might  be  es- 
tablished. Having  at  last  entered  the  Sound,  he  was  invited 
to  go  on  board  the  Princesa,  where  an  altercation  ensued  be- 
tween Martinez  and  himself,  in  respect  of  his  object  in  visiting 
Nootka,  the  result  of  which  was  the  arrest  of  Colnett  himself 
and  the  seizure  of  the  Argonaut.  Iler  consort  the  Princess 
Royal  on  her  return  to  Xootka  on  the  l.*3th  of  July,  was  seized 
in  like  manner  by  the  Spanish  commander.  Roth  these  ves- 
sels were  sent  as  prizes  to  San  Bias,  according  to  Captain 
Mearcs'  memorial.  The  Columbia  in  the  mean  while  had 
been  allowed  to  depart  unmolested,  and  her  consort  the  Wash- 
ington,  which  had  been  trading  along  the  coast,  soon  followed 
her. 

SmoIi   is   a   brief  summary   of  the   transactions  at  Nootka 
Sound  in  the  course  of  I78'J,  which  led  to  the  important  poli- 


il 


1. 


!• 


.;.  ■ 


1 


iiit 


82 


BPANISn    REMONSTRANCE. 


:      1        k'W 


•I 


i!i; 


Miiiiiii 


t  i 


■^  til, 

:■■      'illi 

: '  ( 

1,1 


tical  discussions,  that  terminated  in  the  convention  of  the 
28th  of  Oct.  1790,  signed  at  the  Escurial.  By  this  conven- 
tion the  future  relations  of  Spain  and  Great  Britain  in  respect 
of  trade  and  settlements  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
were  amicably  arranged. 

Immediately  upon  receiving  information  of  these  transac- 
tions from  the  Viceroy,  the  Spanish  Government  hastened  to 
communicate  to  the  Court  of  London  the  seizure  of  a  British 
vessel,  (the  Argonaut,)  and  to  remonstrate  against  the  attempts 
of  British  subjects  to  make  settlements  in  territories  long  oc- 
cupied and  frequented  by  the  Spaniards,  and  against  their  en- 
croachments  on  the  exclusive  rights  of  Spain  to  the  fisheries 
in  the  South  Seas,  as  guaranteed  by  Great  Britain  at  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht.     The  British  Ministry  in  reply  demanded 
the  immediate  restoration  of  the  vessel  seized,  as  preliminary 
to  any  discussion  as  to  the  claims  of  Spain.     The  Spanish 
Cabinet  in  answer  to  this  demand  stated,  that  as  the  Viceroy 
of  Mexico  had  released  the  vessel,  his  Catholic  Majesty  con- 
sidered that  affair  as  concluded,  without  discussing  the  un- 
doubted  rights  of  Spain  to  the  exclusive  sovereignty,  naviga- 
tion, and  commerce  in  the  territories,  coasts,  and  seas,  in  that 
part  of  the  world,  and  that  he  should  be  satisfied  with  Great 
Britain  directing  her  subjects  to  respect  those  rights  in  future. 
At  this  juncture,  Meares,  who  had  received  from  th'   Colum- 
bia,  on  her  arrival  at  Macao,  the  tidings  of  the  seizure  of  the 
North-west  America,  whose  crew  returned  as  passengers  in 
the  Columbia,  as  well  as  of  the  Argonaut  and  the  Princess 
Royal,  arrived  at  London  with  the  necessary  documents  to 
lay  before  the  British  Government.     A  full  memorial  of  the 
transactions  at  Nootka  Sound  in  1789,  including  an  account 
of  the   earlier  commercial  voyages   of  the   Nootka  and  the 
Felice,  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  on  May  13, 
1790.     It  is  pul)lished  in  full  in  the  appendix  to  Meares'  V^oy- 
ages,  and  the  substance  of  it  may  be  found  amongst  the  state 
papers  in  the  Annual  Register  for  1790.     This  was  followed 
by  a  message  from  his  Majesty  to  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
on  May  26th,  stating  that  "  two  vessels  belonging  to  his  Ma- 
jesty's subjects,  and  navigated  under  the  British  flag,  and  two 
others,  of  which  the  description  had  not  l)een  hitherto  suffi- 
ciently ascertained,  had  been  captured  at  Nootka  Sound  by 
an  officer  commanding  two  Sj)anish  ships  of  war."     Having 
alluded  to  the   sul)stance   of  the  communications   which   had 
passed  betM'een  the   two  Governments,  and  to  the   British 


I 


.'!1  I 


BRITISH    DEMAND. 


83 


i  -I 


Jntion  of  the 

■  this  conven- 

Lin  in  respect 

of  America, 

ese  transac- 
hastened  to 
of  a  British 
the  attempts 
ries  long  oc- 
inst  their  en- 
the  fisheries 
itain  at  the 
Ij  demanded 
preliminary 
rhe  Spanish 
the  Viceroy 
lajesty  con- 
iing  the  un. 
nty,  naviga. 
seas,  in  that 
with  Great 
ts  in  future, 
th'   Coium- 
izure  of  the 
engers  in 

Princess 
cuments  to 
rial  of  the 
an  account 
a  and  the 
n  May  13, 
ares'  V^oy. 
t  the  state 
s  followed 
Parliament 
to  his  Ma. 
?,  and  two 
iprto  suffi- 
Sound  by 

Having 
^'hirh  had 
e   British 


ss 


1-' 


minister  having  been  directed  to  make  a  fresh  representation, 
and  to  claim  full  and  adefjuate  satisfaction,  the  message  con- 
cluded with  recommending  that  "  such  mea^^u^es  should  be 
adopted  as  would  enable  his  Majesty  to  support  the  honour  of 
his  crown  and  the  interests  of  his  people."  The  House  of 
Commons  gave  their  full  assent  to  these  recommendations, 
and  readily  voted  the  necessary  supplies,  so  that  preparations 
to  maintain  the  rights  of  (ireat  liritain  by  arms  were  imme- 
diately  commenced.  In  the  mean  time  a  note  had  been  ad- 
dressed on  May  5th,  to  the  S[)anish  minister  in  London,  to  the 
etlect  that  his  Majesty  the  King  of  b^ngland  would  take  effect- 
ual measures  to  prevent  his  sul)jects  from  acting  against  the 
just  and  acknowledged  rights  of  Spain,  but  that  he  could  not 
accede  to  her  jiretensions  of  absolute  sovereignty,  commerce, 
and  navigation,  and  that  he  should  consider  it  his  (kity  to  pro- 
tect his  subjects  in  the  enjoynumts  of  the  right  of  fishery  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  accordance  with  the  foregoing  an. 
swers,  the  British  chargc-d'affaires  at  Madrid  made  a  demand, 
on  May  16th,  for  the  restitution  of  the  Princess  Royal,  and 
for  reparation  proportionate  to  the  losses  and  injuries  sus- 
tained by  English  subjects  trading  under  the  British  flag.  He 
further  asserted  for  them  "  an  indisputalile  right  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  free  and  uninterrupted  navigation,  commerce,  and 
fishery,  and  to  the  possession  of  such  establishments  as  they 
should  form  with  the  consent  of  the  natives  of  the  country,  not 
previously  occupied  by  any  of  the  European  uitions."  The 
substance  of  these  communications  was  emb*';'/  d  in  the  me- 
morial of  the  Court  of  Spain,  delivered  (i;>  J.i,u-  l'3fh  to  the 
British  ambassadcn'  at  Madrid.  It  a[)peared,  liovover,  from  a 
subsequent  reply  from  the  Spanish  min'  .■  r,  the  'Jf.dde  de 
Florida  Blanca,  that  S])ain  maintained,  ''that  the  c'  tfMition 
of  the  vessels  was  made  in  a  port,  upon  a  eoas',  o>-  in  a  I'ly 
of  Spanish  America,  the  commerce  or  navigation  of  whicl' 
belonged  exclusively  to  Spain  by  treaties  with  all  nations, 
even  Engkmd  herself.  The  natiu'e  of  tl!e??e  exclusive  claims 
of  Spain  had  i)een  already  notitied  to  all  the  courts  of  l']urope, 
in  a  declaration  made  by  his  Catholic  Majesty  on  Jere  4th, 
where  the  \\ordsare  made  use  of,  "  in  the  name  of  ihe  King, 
his  sovereignty,  navigation,  and  exclusive  commerce  to  the 
continent  and  islands  of  the  South  Sea,  it  is  the  manner  in 
which  Spain,  in  speaking  nf  the  Indies,  has  alwa>  s  used  these 
words:  tfiat  is  to  say,  to  the  continent,  islands  and  seas, 
which  belong  to  his  Majesty,  so  far  as  discoveries  have  been 


fl! 


h 


5  . 


IHi 


1 


■*3i 


84 


SrANISII    MEMORIAL. 


i' 


ii), 


i,:r 


iUI 


mado,  and  sccurod  to  him  l»y  treaties  and  immemorial  posses- 
sion, and  uniformly  ae(niiesced  in,  notwithstanding  some  in- 
fringements hy  indi\  i(hials,  wlio  have  been  punished  upon 
knowledge  of  their  olienccs.  And  the  King  sets  up  no  pre- 
tensions to  any  possessions,  the  right  to  which  he  cannot  prove 
by  irrefragable  titles." 

What  were  the  treaties  and  immemorial  possession  upon 
which  Spain  rested  her  claims,  was  more  explicitly  stated  in 
the  hipanish  Memorial  of  the  13(h  June.  The  chief  reliance 
seemed  to  have  been  placed  upon  the  8th  article  of  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht,  as  concluded  between  (rreat  iJritain  and  Spain  in 
1713,  by  which  it  was  agreed,  that  the  exercise  of  navigation 
and  commerce  to  the  Spanish  West  Indies  should  remain  in 
the  same  state  in  which  it  was  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.  of 
Spain  ;  that  no  j)ennission  should  at  any  time  be  given  to  any 
nation,  under  any  pretext  whatever,  to  trade  into  the  domin- 
ions subject  to  the  Crown  of  Spain  in  America,  excepting  as 
already  specially  provided  for  by  treaties  :  moreover,  Great 
Britain  undertook  "to  aid  and  assist  the  Spaniards  in  re-es- 
tablishing the  ancient  limits  of  their  dominions  in  the  West 
Indies,  in  the  exact  situation  in  which  they  had  been  in  the 
time  of  Charles  II."  The  extent  of  the  Spanish  territories, 
commerce,  and  dominions  on  the  continent  of  America  was 
further  alleged  in  this  memorial  to  have  been  clearly  laid 
down  and  authenticated  by  a  variety  of  docume.its  and  formal 
acts  of  possession  about  the  year  1692,  in  the  reign  of  the 
above-mentioned  monarch  :  all  attempted  usurpations  since 
that  period  had  been  successfully  resisted,  and  reiterated  acts 
of  taking  possession  by  Spanish  vessels,  had  preserved  the 
rights  of  Spai!i  to  her  dominions,  which  she  had  extended  to 
the  limits  of  the  Russian  establishments  within  Prince  WiU 
liam's  Sound.  It  was  still  fiu-thor  alleged,  that  the  Viceroys 
of  Peru  and  New  Spain  had  oi'  late  directed  the  western 
coasts  of  America,  and  the  islands  and  seas  adjacent,  to  be 
more  frequently  explored,  in  order  to  check  the  growing  in- 
crease of  smuggling,  and  that  it  was  in  one  of  the  usual  tours 
of  inspection  of  the  coasts  of  Calitbrnia  that  the  commanding 
otl^icerofa  Spanish  ship  had  detained  the  English  vessels  in 
Nootka  Sound,  as  having  arrivivl  there,  not  for  the  purposes  of 
trade,  but  with  the  object  of  "  founding  a  settlement  and  forti- 
fying  it." 

Prom  these  negotiations  it  would  appear,  that  Spain  claimed 
for  herself  un  exclusive  title  to  the  entire  north-western  coast 


n 


DECLARATIONS    OF    THE    TWO    POWERS. 


65 


orial  possos- 
ng  some  in- 
iiislied  u[)on 
i  iij)  no  pre- 
;annot  prove 

ession  upon 

\y  stated  in 

ief  reliance 

{"the  Treaty 

nd  Spain  in 

f  navjoration 

remain  in 

arles  II.  of 

jlven  to  any 

the  domin- 

xceptlng  as 

3ver,  Great 

ds  in  re-es- 

n  the  West 

been  in  the 

territories, 

nerica  was 

;learly  laid 

and  formal 

3ign  of  the 

ions  since 

ated  acts 

iMved  the 

xtended  to 

ince  Wil- 

Viceroys 

e  western 

:ent,  to  be 

owing  in- 

isual  tours 

nmanding 

.'ossels  in 

U'poses  of 

and  forti- 

II  claimed 
crn  coast 


of  America,  up  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  as  having  been 
discovered  by  her,  and  such  discovery  having  been  secured 
to  her  by  treaties,  and  repeated  acts  of  taking  possession. 
She  consequently  denied  the  right  of  any  other  nation  (tor 
almost  all  the  nations  of  Europe  had  been  i)arties  to  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht)  to  make  establishments  within  the  limits  of  Span- 
ish America.  (Jreat  Britain,  on  the  other  hand,  maintained 
her  right  "  to  a  free  and  undisturbed  navigation,  commerce, 
and  lishery,  and  to  the  j)osse?sion  of  any  establishment  which 
she  might  tbrm  with  the  consent  of  the  natives  of  the  country, 
where  such  country  was  not  previously  occuj)ied  by  any  of  the 
European  nations."  These  may  })e  considered  to  have  been 
the  two  questions  at  issue  between  (ireat  IJritain  and  Spain, 
which  were  set  at  rest  by  the  sul)sequent  convention. 

That  such  was    the    object   of  the   convention,   is  evident 
from  the  tenor  of  two  docutnents  exchanged  between  the  two 
courts  on  the  24th  of  July,  1700,  the  first  of  which  contained 
a  declaration,  on  the  part  of  his  Catholic  ^lajesty,  of  his  en- 
gagement to  make  full  restitution  of  all  the   British  vessels 
which  were  captured  at  Nootka,  and  to  indemnify  the  parties 
with  an  understanding  that  it  should  not  prejudice  "the  ulte- 
rior discussion  of  any  right  w  hich  his  Majesty  might  claim  to 
form  an   exclusive    establishment   at  the  port  of  Nootka  ;" 
whilst  on  the  part  of  his   Britannic  Majesty  a  counter-decla- 
ration was  issued,   accepting  the  declaration  of  his   Catholic 
Majesty,  together  wish  the  performance  of  the  engagements 
contained   therein,  as  a  full  and   entire  satisfaction  tor   the 
injury  of  which  his  Majesty  complained;  v/lth  the  reservation 
that  neitl  <  r  the  declaration  nor  its  acceptance  "shall  preju- 
dice in  ctny  respect  the  right  which  his  Majesty  might  claim 
to  any  esta})lishment  which  his  subjects  might  have  formed, 
or  should  be  desirous  of  forming  in  future,  in  the  said  Bay  of 
Nootka."     Mr.  (ireenhow's  mode  of  stating  the  substance  of 
these  papers  (p.  'JOG)  is  calculated  to  give  an  erroneous  no- 
tion  of  the  state  in  which  they  left  the  question.     He  adds, 
"  it  being,  however,  at  the  same  time  wlmiltcd  and  expressed 
on  both  sides,  that  the  Spanish  declaration  was  not  to  preclude 
or  prejudice   the  ulterior  discussion   of  any  right  which  his 
Catholic  Majesty  might  claim  to  form  an  exclusive  establish- 
ment at  Nootka  Sound."     This  is  not  a  correct  statement  of 
the  transaction,  as  the  reservation  was  expressed  in  the  de- 
claration of  his  Catholic  Majesty;  but  so  far  was  his  Britan- 
nic Majesty  from  admitting  it  in  the  counter-declaration,  that 


u 


i 

hi 


•       ! 


1 


ij 


8d 


CO:yVENTI0X    OF   TUE    ESCURIAL. 


he  met  it  directly  with  a  special  reservation  of  the  rights  of 
his  own  subjects,  as  already  set  forth. 

Had  the  crown  of  Spain  been  able  to  rely  upon  assistance 
from  France,  in  accordance  with  the  treaty  of  ITbl,  known 
as  the  Family  Compact,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  she  would 
have  attempted  to  maintain  by  arms  her  claim  of  exclusive 
sovereignty  over  "  all  the  coast  to  the  north  of  Western  Ame- 
rica on  the  side  of  the  South  Sea,  as  far  as  beyond  what  is 
called  Prince  William's  Sound,  which  is  in  the  sixty-first  de- 
gree ;"  but  her  formal  application  for  assistance  was  not 
attended  with  the  result  which  the  mutual  engagements  of  the 
two  crowns  would  have  secured  at  an  earlier  period.  The 
National  Assembly,  to  which  body  Louis  XVI.  was  obliged, 
under  the  altered  state  of  political  cir^  jmstances  in  France, 
to  submit  the  letter  of  the  King  of  Sp.iin,  was  ratho.r  disposed 
to  avail  itself  of  the  opportunity  which  seemed  to  present  itself 
for  substituting  a  national  treaty  between  the  two  nations  for 
the  Family  Compact  between  the  two  Courts  ;  and  though  it 
decreed  that  the  naval  a'-maments  of  France  should  be  in- 
creased in  accordance  with  the  increased  armaments  of  other 
European  powers,  it  made  no  direct  promise  of  assistance  to 
Spain.  On  the  contrary,  the  Diplomatic  Committee  of  the 
National  Assembly  resolved  rather  to  strengthen  the  relations 
of  France  with  England,  and  to  prevent  a  war,  if  possible  ; 
and  with  this  object  they  co-operated  with  the  agent  of  Mr. 
Pitt  in  Paris  (Tomline's  Life  of  Pitt,  c.  \\\.)  and  with  M.  de 
Montmorenci,  the  French  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  in 
furthering  the  peaceable  adjustment  of  the  questions  in  dis- 
pute. 


Cf.'ivcnlion  hetwren  His  Britannic  MdjesUj  and  the  King  of 
Spain,  signed  at  the  EscuriaJ  tlie '■l^Ah  of  October,  1790. 
(Annual  HegLs\pr,  i  7*J0,  p.  303.  Martens,  Recu^il  de 
Trait6s,t.  iv.,  p.  4!)3.) 

"Their  Tiritamuc  and  Catliolic  Majesties,  being  desirous 
of  terminating,  by  a  speedy  and  solid  agreement,  the  diller- 
ences  which  have  lately  arisen  between  the  two  crowns, 
have  judged  that  the  best  way  of  attaining  this  salutary  olyect 
would  be  that  of  an  amicable  arrangement,  which,  setting 
aside  all  rotrospcitive  di.scusision  of  the  rights  and  pretensions 
of  the  two  parties,  bhould  tix  their  respective  situation  fur  the 


I 


I 


le  rights  of 

(1  asiistance 
rttl,  known 
■it  she  would 
jf  exclusive 
Bstern  Ame- 
md  what  is 
xty.first  de- 
co  was  not 
Tients  of  the 
ii-iod.  The 
vas  obliged, 

in  France, 
p.r  disposed 
resent  itself 

nations  for 
id  though  it 
ould  be  in- 
nts  of  other 
ssistance  to 
ittee  of  the 
he  relations 
f  possible  ; 
ent  of  Mr. 
with  M.  de 

Affairs^  in 
ions  in  dis* 


e  King  of 
her,  1790. 
Iccu3il  de 


^g  desirous 
the  dirt'er- 
o  crowns, 
tary  olyect 
ch,  setting 
retensions 
ion  for  the 


CONVENTION    OF    THE   ESCURIAL. 


87 


future  on  a  basis  conformable  to  their  true  interests,  as  well 
as  to  the  mutual  desire  with  which  their  said  Majesties  are  ani- 
mated,  of  establishing  with  each  other,  in  every  thing  and  in  all 
places,  the  most  perfect  friendship,  harmony,  and  good  corres- 
pondence.  In  this  view,  they  have  named  and  C(tnstituted  for 
their  plenij)otentiaries  ;  to  wit,  on  the  part  of  his  IJritannic 
Majesty,  Alleyne  Fitz-Herbert,  Esq.,  one  of  his  said  Majesty's 
Privy  Council  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  his  Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary  to  his  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty ;  and,  on  the  part  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  Don  Joseph 
Monino,  Count  of  Florida  Blanca,  Knight  Crand  Cross  oftlie 
Royal  Spanish  Order  of  Charles  III.,  Councillor  of  State  to 
his  said  Majesty,  and  his  Principal  Secretary  of  State,  and  of 
the  Despatches  ;  who,  after  having  communicated  to  each  other 
their  respective  full  powers,  have  agreed  upon  the  Ibllowing 
articles  : — 

"Art.  I.  It  is  agreed  that  the  buildings  and /rrtc/5  of  land 
situated  on  the  north-west  coast  of  the  continent  of  >»orth 
America,  or  on  islands  adjacent  to  that  continent,  of  which 
the  subjects  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  were  dispossessed,  about 
the  month  of  April,  1789,  by  a  Spanish  otFicer,  shall  be  restor- 
ed to  the  said  Britannic  subjects. 

"  Art.  II.  And  further,  that  a  just  reparation  shall  be 
made,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  case,  for  all  acts  of  vio- 
lence or  hostility  which  may  have  been  committed,  subsequent 
to  the  month  of  April,  1789,  by  the  subjects  of  either  of  the 
contracting  parties  against  the  subjects  of  the  other ;  and 
that,  in  case  any  of  the  said  resprcti\e  subjects  shall,  since 
the  same  period,  have  been  foicii)ly  dispossessed  of  their 
lands,  buildings,  vessels,  meichandise,  or  other  property 
whatever,  on  the  said  continent,  or  on  the  seas  or  islands  ad- 
jacent,  they  shall  be  re-eslablishcd  in  the  possessian  thereof,  or 
a  just  compensation  shall  be  made  to  them  iorthe  losses  which 
they  shall  liave  sustained. 

*'  Art.  III.  And  in  order  to  strengthen  the  bonds  offrierd- 
ship,  and  to  preserve  in  future  a  perfect  liarnKjny  and  g(K)d 
understanding  b(>tween  the  two  contracting  parties,  it  is  agreed 
that  their  respective  subjects  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  mo- 
lested, either  in  navigating  or  carrying  on  their  tisheiies  in 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in  the  S)ulh  Seas,  or  in  landing  on  the 
coasts  of  those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the 


1 1| 


''I 


■\ 


u 


88 


CONVKXTION    OF    THE    ESCURIAL. 


.t! 
Mi 


;!■! 


'^Mi| 


(■! 


:liiii 


■I 


country,  or  of  maldnft  srtllemenis  there ;  the  whole  subject, 
ncvertlu;U!.s.s,  to  the  restrictions  and  provisions  specilied  in 
the  three  l'oih)\viiifr  artich's. 

"AnT.  IV.  His  Britannic  Majesty  engages  to  take  the 
most  ell'cctual  measures  to  prevent  the  navigation  and  lisiiery 
of  his  subjects  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in  the  South  Seas, 
from  i)eing  made  a  pretext  for  illicit  trade  with  the  Spanish 
scUJcmcnts  ;  and  with  this  view,  it  is  moreover  expressly  stip- 
ulated,  that  British  subjects  shall  not  navigate,  or  carry  on 
their  lishery  in  the  said  seas,  within  the  space  of  ten  sea 
leagues  from  any  part  of  the  coasts  ulremly  occupied  by  Spain. 

"  Art.  V.  It  is  agreed,  that  as  well  in  the  places  which 
are  to  be  restored  to  the  British  subjects,  by  virtue  of  the 
first  article,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  the  north-western  coasts 
of  North  America,  or  of  the  islands  adjacent,  situated  to  the 
north  of  the  parts  of  the  said  coast  already  occupied  i)y  Spain, 
wherever  the  subjects  of  either  of  the  two  powers  .shall  have 
made  scllJemenls  since  the  month  of  April,  1789,  or  shall 
hcreafler  make  any,  the  subjects  of  the  other  shall  have  free 
access,  and  shall  carry  on  their  trade,  without  any  disturbance 
or  molestation. 

"  Art.  VI.  It  is  further  agreed,  with  respect  to  the  east- 
ern  and  western  coasts  of  South  America,  and  to  the  islands 
adjacent,  that  no  setllement  shall  be  formed  hereafter,  by  the 
respective  subjects,  in  such  parts  of  those  coasts  as  are  situat- 
ed to  the  south  of  those  parts  of  the  same  coasts  and  of  the 
islands  adjacent,  which  are  already  occupied  by  Spain  :  pro- 
vided that  the  said  respective  sulyects  shall  retain  the  liberty 
of  landing  on  the  coasts  and  islands  so  situated,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  their  fishery,  and  of  erecting  thereon  huts,  and  other 
temporary  buildings,  serving  only  for  those  purposes. 

"  Art.  VII.  In  all  cases  of  complaint  or  infraction  of  the 
articles  of  the  present  convention,  the  oflicers  of  either  party, 
without  permitting  themselves  previously  to  commit  any  vio- 
lence or  act  of  force,  '^hall  be  bound  to  make  an  exact  report 
of  the  afiair,  and  of  its  circumstances,  to  their  respective 
courts,  who  will  terminate  such  differences  in  an  amicable 
manner. 

"  Art.  VIII.  The  present  convention  shall  be  ratified 
and  confirmed  in  the  space  of  six  weeks,  to  be  computed 
from  the  day  of  its  signatiu'c,  or  soonei',  if  it  can   ])e  done. 

"  In  witness  wher«M)f,  wt-  the  undersigned  Plenipotentiaries 
of  their    Britannic  and  Catholic  Majesties,  have,   in   their 


:* 

'  •!••'■ 

ARTICLI  .^    OF    THE    CONVENTION. 


89 


c  subject, 
pecilied  iu 

>  take  the 
,nd  lishcry 
•uth  Seas, 
le  Spanish 
essly  stip. 
r  carry  on 
jf  ten  sea 
'  hy  Spain. 
ces  which 
tue  of  the 
ern  coasta 
ted  to  the 
hy  Spain, 
sluiJl  have 
I,  or  shall 
have  free 
isturljance 

the  east- 
he  islands 
er,  hy  the 
ire  sitiiat- 
nd  of  the 
ain  :  pro- 
le  liberty 
the  pur- 
and  other 

• 

on  of  the 
ler  party, 

any  vio- 
let rpport 

spectivo 
amicable 

ratified 
computed 
1)0  done, 
entiaries 
in   their 


names,  and  in  virtue  of  our  respective  full  powers,  si«j;ned  the 
present  convention,  and  set  thereto  the  seals  ofotir  arms. 

"  Done  at  the  l*alace  of  St,    Latuenci',   the  twenty-eightii 
of  October,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety. 

"  Alleyne  Fitz-IIeuheut. 
(L.  S.) 
"  El  Conde  de  Flokida  Blanca." 
(L.  S.) 

On  examining  this  convention,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  first 
article  confirmed  the  positive  engagement  which  his  Catludic 
Majesty  had  contracted  by  his  declaration  of  the  *>!  1th  July  : 
that  the  second  contained  an  engagement  for  both  parties  to 
make  reparation  mutually  for  any  contingent  acts  of  violence 
or  hostility  :  that  the  third  defined  for  the  future  the  mutual 
rights  of  the  two  contracting  parties,  in  respect  to  the  ques- 
tions which  remained  in  dispute  after  the  exchange  of  the 
declaration  and  coilnter-declaration.  By  this  article  the  navi- 
gation  and  fisheries  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  South  Seas 
were  declared  to  be  free  to  the  subjects  of  the  two  crowns, 
and  their  mutual  right  of  trading  with  the  natives  on  the  coast, 
and  of  making  scltlvmenls  in  places  not  alrrathj  occuinid^  was 
fully  recognised,  subject  to  certain  restrictions  in  the  follow- 
ing articles. 

By  the  fourth  of  these,  his  Britannic  Majesty  bound  himself 
to  prevent  his  subjects  carrying  on  an   illicit   trade  witli  the 
Spanish   settlements,  and  engaged  that  they  should  not  ap- 
proach within  ten  miles  of  the  coasts  already  occupied  by 
Spain. 

By  the  fifth  it  was  agreed  that,  in  the  places  to  be  restored 
to  the  British,  and  in  whatever  parts  of  the  north-western 
coasts  of  America,  or  the  adjacent  islands,  situate  to  the  north 
of  the  parts  already  occupied  by  Spain,  the  subjects  of  either 
power  should  make  settlements,  the  subjects  of  the  other 
should  have  free  commercial  access. 

By  the  sixth  it  was  agreed,  that  no  settlements  should  be 
made  by  either  power  on  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of 
South  America,  or  the  adjacent  islands,  south  of  the  parts 
already  occupied  by  Spain  ;  but  that  they  should  be  open  to 
the  temporary  occupation  of  the  subjects  of  either  power,  for 
the  purposes  of  their  fishery. 

By  the  seventh,  provisions  were  made  for  the  amicable 
arrangement  of  any  difTerences  which  might  arise  from  in- 


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fringomcnts  of  the  convention  ;  and,  by  the  eighth,  the  time 
of  ratllication  was  settled. 

It  thus  ap|)ears  that,  by  the  third  article,  t'io  right  insisted 
upon  by  the  British  charge-d'afFaires  at  iMadrid.  m  the  Memo- 
rial of  the  16th  of  May,  was  fully  acknowledged  ;  namely, 
"the  indis[)utable  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  and  unin- 
terrupted navigation,  commerce,  and  lishery,  and  to  the  pos. 
session  of  such  establishments  as  they  should  form,  with  the 
consent  of  the  natives  of  the  country,  not  previously  occupied 
by  any  of  the  European  nations."  In  accordance  with  this 
view,  it  is  observed  in  Schoell's  Histoire  Abregee  des  Traites 
de  Paix  :  "  En  consequence  il  fut  signe  Ic  28  Octobre,  au 
palais  de  I'Escurial,  une  convention  par  laquelle  la  question 
litigieuse  fut  entierement  decidoe  en  favour  de  la  Grande 
Bretagne." 

Thus,  indeed,  after  a  struggle  of  more  than  two  hundred 
years,  the  principles  which  Great  Britain  had  asserted  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  were  at  last  recognised  by  Spain  :  the 
unlimited  pretensions  of  the  Spanish  crown  to  exclusive 
dominion  in  the  VVestern  Indies,  founded  upon  the  bull  of 
Alexander  VI.,  were  restrained  within  definite  limits ;  and 
occupation,  or  actual  possession,  was  acknowledged  to  be 
henceforw  .rd  the  only  test  between  the  two  crowns,  in 
respect  to  each  other,  of  territorial  title  on  the  west  coast  of 
North  America. 

Mr.  Greejihow  states,  (p.  215,)  that  both  parties  were,  by 
the  convention,  equally  excluded  from  settling  in  the  vacant 
coasts  of  South  America  ;  and  from  exercising  that  jurisdic- 
tion which  is  essential  to  political  sovereignty,  over  any  spot 
north  of  the  most  northern  Spanish  settlement  in  the  Pacific. 
The  former  part  of  this  statement  is  perfectly  correct,  but  the 
latter  is  questionable,  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  set  forth. 
The  right  of  trading  with  the  natives,  or  of  making  settle- 
ments in  places  not  already  occupied,  was  secured  to  both 
parties  by  the  third  article  :  whereas,  in  places  where  the 
subjects  of  either  power  should  have  made  settlements,  free 
access  for  carrying  on  their  trade  was  all  that  was  guaran- 
teed to  the  subjects  of  the  other  party.  This  then  was  merely 
a  commercial  privilege,  not  inconsistent  with  that  territorial 
sovereignty,  which,  by  the  practice  of  nations,  would  attend 
upon  the  occupation  or  actual  possession  of  lands  hitherto 
vacant.  In  fact,  when  Mr.  Greenhow  observes,  in  continua- 
tion,  that  "  the  convention  determined  nothing  regarding  the 


VANCOUVER  S    MIS3I0X. 


01 


ighth,  the  time 


rights  of  either  to  the  sovereignty  of  any  portion  of  America, 
except  so  far  as  it  may  imply  an  ai>rogati<»ii,  or  rather  suspen- 
sion  of  all  such  claims  on  both  sides,  to  any  of  those  coasts  ;" 
he  negatives  his  previous  supposition  that  the  convention 
precluded  the  acquisition  of  territorial  sovereignty  hy  either 
party.  The  general  law  of  nations  would  reguhite  this  ques- 
tion, if  the  convention  determined  nothing :  and,  by  that 
general  law,  "  when  a  nation  takes  jjossession  of  a  country 
to  which  no  prior  owner  can  lay  claim,  it  is  considered  as 
acquiring  the  empire  or  sorcreiirnfi/  of  it  at  the  same  time 
with  the  domnin."  The  discussion  of 'his  question,  however, 
as  being  one  of  law,  not  of  fact,  '  be  more  properly 
deferred. 

One  object  of  Vanconver's  mission,  as  already  observed, 
was  to  receive  from  the  Spanish  officers  such  latuls  or  build- 
ings as  were  to  be  restored  to  the  subjects  of  his  IJritaimic 
Majesty,  in  conformity  to  the  first  article  of  the  convention, 
and  instructions  were  forwarded  to  him,  after  his  departure, 
through  Lieutenant  llergest,  in  the  IJirdalus,  to  that  etiect. 
The  letter  of  Count  Florida  Blanca  to  the  commandant  at 
Nootka,  which  Lieutenant  Hergest  carried  out  with  him,  is 
to  be  found  in  the  Introduction  to  Vancouver's  Voyage,  p. 
xxvii.  "  In  conformity  to  the  first  article  of  the  convention  of 
28th  October,  1790,  between  our  Court  and  that  of  London, 
( )  you  will  give  directions  that  his  Britan- 
nic Majesty's  officer,  who  shall  deliver  this  letter,  shall  imme- 
diately be  put  into  possession  of  the  buildings,  and  districts 
or  parcels  of  land,  which  were  occupied  by  the  subjects  of 
that  sovereign  in  April  1789,  as  well  in  the  port  of  Nootka 
or  of  St.  Lawrence,  as  in  the  other,  said  to  be  called  Port 
Cox,  and  to  be  situated  about  sixteen  leagues  distant  from  the 
former,  to  the  southward  ;  and  that  such  parcels  or  districts 
of  land  of  which  the  English  subjects  were  dispossessed,  be 
restored  to  the  said  officer,  in  case  the  Spaniards  should  not 
have  given  them  up." 

Vancouver,  however,  on  his  arrival,  found  himself  unable 
to  acquiesce  in  the  terms  proposed  by  Sefior  Quadra,  the 
Spanish  commandant,  and  despatched  Lieutenant  Mudge,  by 
way  of  China,  to  England,  for  niore  explicit  instructions. 
Lieutenant  Broughton  was  subsequen'.ly  directed  to  proceed 
home  in  1793,  with  a  similar  object.  On  his  arrival  he  was 
sent  by  the  British  Government  to  Madrid  ;  and  on  his  return 
to  London,  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Nootka,  as  captain  of 


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his  Majesty's  sloop  Providence,  with  Mr.  Mudge  as  his  first 
lieutenant,  to  receive  possession  of  the  territories  to  be 
restored  to  the  British,  in  case  they  should  not  have  l>een 
previously  given  up.  His  own  account,  published  in  his  Voy- 
age, p.  50,  is  unfortunately  meagre  in  the  extreme.  On  17th 
March,  1796,  he  anchored  in  the  Sound,  where  Maquinna 
and  another  chief  brought  him  several  letters,  dated  March, 
1795,  which  informed  him  "  that  Captain  Vancouver  sailed 
from  Monterey  the  1st  December,  1794,  for  England,  and 
that  the  Spaniards  had  delivered  up  the  port  of  Nootka,  &c., 
to  Lieutenant  Pierce  of  the  marines,  agreeably  to  the  mode  of 
restitution  settled  between  the  two  Courts.  A  letter  from  the 
Spanish  officer.  Brigadier  Alava,  informed  him  of  their  sail- 
ing,  in  March,  1795,  from  thence." 

It  is  evidently  to  this  transaction  that  Schoell,  in  his  edition 
of  Koch's  Histoire  Abregce  des  Traites  de  Paix,  t.  i.,  ch.  xxiv., 
refers,  when  he  writes, — "  L'execution  de  la  Convention  du 
28  Octobre  1790,  oprouva,  du  reste,  des  difficultes  qui  la 
retarderent  jusqu'en  1795.  Elles  furent  terminees  le  23  Mars 
de  cette  annee,  sur  les  lieux  memes,  par  le  brigadier  Espag- 
nol  Alava,  et  le  lieutenant  Anglais  Poara,  (Pierce?)  qui 
{>changcrent  des  declarations  dans  le  goife  de  Nootka  meme. 
Apres  que  le  fort  Espagnol  fut  rase,  les  Espagnols  s'em- 
barquerent,  et  le  pavilion  Anglais  y  fut  plante  en  signe  de 
possession."  M.  Koch  does  not  give  his  authority,  but  it 
was  most  probably  Spanish,  from  the  modification  which  the 
name  of  the  British  lieutenant  has  undergone.  On  the  other 
hand,  Mr.  Greenhow  cites  a  passage  from  Belsham's  History 
of  England,  to  this  effect : — "  It  is  nevertheless  certain,  from 
the  most  authentic  information,  that  the  Spanish  flag  flying  at 
Nootka  was  never  struck,  and  that  the  territory  has  been  vir- 
tually relinquished  by  Great  Britain."  It  ought,  however,  to 
have  been  stated,  that  this  remark  occurs  in  a  note  to  Bel- 
sham's  work,  without  any  clew  to  the  authentic  information 
on  which  he  professed  to  rely,  and  with  a  special  reference 
to  a  work  of  no  authority — L'Histoire  de  Frederic-Guillaume 
II.,  Roi  de  Prusse,  par  le  Comte  de  Segur ; — in  which  it  is 
stated,  that  the  determination  of  the  French  Convention  to 
maintain  at  all  risk  the  Family  Compact,  intimidated  Great 
Britain  into  being  satisfied  with  the  mere  restitution  of  the 
vessels  which  had  been  captured  with  her  subjects,  while 
engaged  in  a  contraband  trade  with  the  Spanish  settlements  ! 
It  further  appears  from  an  official  Spanish  paper,  to  which 


M.    DUFLOT    DE    MOFRAS. 


93 


Mr.  Greenhow  alludes  in  a  note  (p.  257,)  as  existing  in  the 
library  of  Congress  at  Washington,  intitled  "  Instruccion 
reservada  del  Reyno  de  Nueva  Espana,  que  el  Exmo  Senor 
Virey  Condo  de  Kevillagigedo  dio  a  su  sucesor  el  Exino 
Senor  Marques  de  Branciforte,  en  el  ano  de  1704,"  that  or- 
ders had  been  sent  to  the  commandant  at  Nootka  to  abandon 
the  place,  agreeably  to  a  royal  dictamrn.  The  negative  re- 
mark, therefore,  of  Mr.  Belsham,  cannot  disprove  the  fact  of 
the  restitution  of  Nootka  to  the  British,  against  the  positive 
statements  of  so  many  high  authorities  :  it  may,  indeed,  bo 
conclusive  of  his  own  ignorance  of  the  fact,  and  so  far  his 
integrity  may  remain  unimpeached  ;  but  it  must  be  at  the 
expense  of  his  character  for  accurate  research  and  careful 
statement — the  most  valuable,  as  well  as  the  most  necessary 
qualifications  of  a  writer  of  history. 

M.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  in  his  recent  work,  intitled,  "  Explo- 
ration du  Territoire  de  TOrcgon,"  tom.  ii.,  p.  145,  further 
states,  that  Lieutenant  Pierce  passed  through  Mexico.  "  Par 
suite  de  quclques  fausses  interprt'tations  du  trait'-  de  28  Oct. 
1790,  les  Espagnols  ne  remirent  point  immwliatement  Noot- 
ka aux  Anglais,  et  ce  ne  fut  qu'en  Mars  1795,  que  le  com- 
mandant Espagnol  opera  cette  cession  entre  les  mains  du 
Lieutenant  Pierce,  de  I'infanterie  de  marine  Anglaise,  venu 
tout  ex  pros  de  Londres  par  le  Mexique,  pour  hater  I'exccution 
du  traite  de  I'Escurial." 


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CHAPTER    VI. 


THE  OREGON  OR  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 


The  Oregon,  or  Grent  River  of  the  West,  discovered  by  D.  Bruno  Hcceta, 
in  1775.  Ensenada  dc  llcccta. — Rio  de  San  Roque. — Mcares'  Voyage 
in  the  Felice,  in  I7b8. — Deception  Bay. — Vancouver's  Mission  in  1791. 
— Vancouver  vindicated  against  Mr.  Grcenhow  in  respect  to  Cape  Or- 
ford — Vancouver  passes  through  Deception  Bay. — Meets  Captain  Gray 
in  the  Merchant-ship  Columbia. — Gray  passes  the  Bar  of  the  Oregon, 
and  gives  it  the  Name  of  the  Columbia  River. — Extract  from  the  Log- 
book of  the  Columbia. — Vancouver  defended. — Tho  Chatham  crosses 
the  Bar,  and  finds  the  Schooner  Jenny,  from  Bristol,  inside. — The  Die- 
covery  driven  out  to  Sea. — Lieutenant  Broughton  ascends  the  River 
with  his  Boats,  110  miles  from  its  Mouth. — Point  Vancouver. — The 
Cascades — Tiie  Dalles. — The  Chutes  or  Falls  of  the  Columbia. — Mi". 
Greenhow's  Criticism  of  Lieutenant  Broughton's  Nomenclature. — Lord 
Stoweil's  Definition  of  the  Mouth  of  a  River. — Extent  of  Gray's  Re- 
searches.— Tiie  Discovery  of  the  Columbia  River  a  progressive  Dis- 
covery.— Doctrine  as  to  the  Discovery  of  a  River,  set  up  by  the  United 
States,  denied  by  Great  Britain. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  the  first  discovery  of  the  lo- 
cality where  the  Oregon  or  Great  River  of  the  West  emptied 
itself  into  the  sea,  was  made  in  177.5,  by  D.  Bruno  Heceta, 
as  he  was  coasting  homewards  to  Monterey,  having  parted 
with  his  companion  Bodega  in  about  the  50th  degree  of  north 
latitude.  We  find  in  consequence  that  in  the  charts  pub- 
lishcd  at  Mexico  soon  after  his  return,  the  inlet,  which  ho 
named  Enscnada  dc  la  Asuncion,  is  called  Ensenada  de  He> 
ceta,  and  the  river  which  was  supposed  to  empty  itself  there, 
is  marked  as  the  Rio  de  San  Roque.  The  discovery  however 
of  this  river  by  Heceta  was  certainly  the  veriest  shadow  of  a 
discovery,  as  will  be  evident  from  his  own  report,  which  Mr. 
Greenhow  has  annexed  in  the  Appendix  to  his  work.  Having 
stated  that  on  the  17th  of  August  he  discovered  a  large  bay, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  the  Bay  of  the  Assumption,  in 
about  46°  17'  N.  L.,  he  proceeds  to  say,  that  having  placed 
his  ship  nearly  midway  between  the  two  capes  wi.ich  formed 
the  extremities  of  the  bay,  ho  found  the  currents  and  eddies 


MEARES     VOYAGE. 


05 


)| 


too  strong  for  his  vessel  to  contend  with  in  safety.  "These 
currents  and  eddies  of  water  caused  me  to  believe  that  the 
place  is  the  mouth  of  some  great  river,  or  of  some  passage 
into  another  sea."  In  fact,  Heceta  did  not  ascertain  that  the 
water  of  this  current  was  not  sea-water,  and  as  he  himself 
says,  had  liule  difficulty  in  conceiving  that  the  inlet  might 
be  the  same  with  the  passage  mentioned  by  De  Fuca,  since 
he  was  satisfied  no  such  straits  as  those  described  by  De 
Fuca  existed  between  47°  and  48°. 

Although,  however,  the  discovery  of  this  river  was  so  es- 
sentially imperfect,  being  attended  by  no  exploration,  as  hard- 
ly to  warrant  the  admission  of  it  into  charts  which  professed 
to  be  well  authenticated,  still  its  existence  was  believed  upon 
the  evidence  which  Heceta's  report  furnished,  and  as  subse- 
quent examination  has  confirmed  its  existence,  the  Spaniards 
seem  warranted  in  claiming  the  credit  of  the  discovery  for 
their  countryman. 

No  further  notice  of  this  supposed  river  occurs  until  Meares* 
voyage  in  the  Felice,  in  17^8.  Meares,  according  to  his 
published  narrative,  reached  the  bay  of  the  river  on  July  6th, 
and  steered  into  it,  with  every  expectation  of  finding  there, 
according  to  the  Spanish  accounts,  a  good  port.  In  this  hope, 
however,  he  was  disappointed,  as  breakers  were  observed,  as 
he  approached,  extending  across  the  bay.  He  in  consequence 
gave  to  the  northern  headland  the  name  of  Cape  Disappoint- 
ment, and  to  the  bay  itself  the  title  of  Deception  Bay.  "  Wo 
can  now  with  safety  assert,"  ho  writes,  "  that  no  such  river 
as  that  of  Saint  Roc  exists,  as  laid  down  in  the  Spanish 
charts."  Meares  had  been  led  from  those  charts  to  expect 
that  he  should  find  a  place  of  shelter  for  his  ship  at  the  mouth 
of  this  river,  and  Heceta,  in  his  plan,  upon  which  the  Spanish 
charts  were  based,  had  supposed  that  there  was  a  port  there 
formed  by  an  island  :  so  that,  as  "  it  blew  very  strong  in  the 
offing,  and  a  great  westerly  swell  tumbled  in  on  the  land,"  it 
was  not  surprising  that  Meares  should  have  concluded,  from 
there  being  no  opening  in  the  breakers,  that  there  was  no 
such  port,  and  therefore  no  such  river. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  locality  of  the  bay  which 
Meares  reconnoitred  was  the  locality  of  the  Ensenada  de 
Heceta ;  and  on  the  other  hand  it  cannot  be  gainsayed,  that 
Meares  was  right  in  concluding  that  there  was  no  such  river 
ns  that  of  St.  Roque,  as  laid  down  in  the  Spanish  charts,  for 
the  context  of  Meares'  narrative  explains  the  meaning  of  the 


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M'ord  "such."  IVIcares  states  lioforchand,  tliat  they  were  in 
expectation  that  the  distant  hind  beyond  the  promontory  would 
prove  to  be  "  tlic  Cape  St.  Hofjue  of  the  Spaniards,  near 
M'hich  they  v'C7'e  said  to  have  J\ mud  a  ^ood  porl,^^  The  river, 
then,  of  St.  Koque,  such  as  it  was  laid  down  in  Spanish  charts, 
was  a  river  "  near  which  was  a  good  port,"  and  the  disap- 
pointment which  Mearcs  handed  down  to  posterity  by  the 
name  which  he  gave  to  the  ])romontory,  was  that  of  not  ob- 
fainiiiir  a  place  of  shvltrr  for  his  vessel.  Mcares,  it  must  be 
remembered,  was  not  in  search  of  the  Straits  of  Anian.  He 
had  already  in  the  previous  month  of  June  ascertained  the 
existence  of  the  Straits  of  Juan  de  F'ica,  which  he  supposed 
might  be  one  of  the  passages  into  Huds^on's  Bay  :  but  he  was 
in  search  of  some  harbour  or  port,  where  the  ship  could  re- 
main in  safety,  while  the  boats  might  be  employed  in  explor- 
ing the  coast.  (Voyage,  p.  1G6.)  Such  a  harbour  indeed 
Deception  Bay  most  assuredly  does  not  supply,  and  though 
Baker's  Bay  within  the  bar  of  the  river  fttlbrds  on  the  north 
side  a  good  and  secure  anchorage,  yet,  as  Lieut.  Broughton 
su^^sequently  ascertained,  "the  heavy  and  confused  swell  that 
rolls  in  over  the  shallow  entrance,  and  breaks  in  three  fath- 
oms water,  renders  the  place  between  Baker's  Bay  and  Chi- 
nock  Point  a  very  inditlerent  roadstead." 

Mr.  Greenhow,  (p.  177,)  in  his  observations  on  Mcares* 
voyage,  writes  thus :  "  Yet,  strange  though  it  may  appear, 
the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  British  Government  in 
1826,  to  treat  with  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  at 
London,  on  the  subject  of  the  claims  of  the  respective  parties 
to  territories  on  the  northwest  side  of  America,  insisted  that 
Meares  on  this  occasion  discovered  the  Great  River  Colum- 
bia, which  actually  enters  the  Pacific  at  Deception  Bay,  and 
cite,  in  proof  of  their  assertion,  the  very  parts  of  the  narrative 
above  extracted,"  the  substance  of  which  has  just  been  re- 
ferred to.  Mr.  Greenhow,  however,  has  attached  rather  too 
great  an  extent  to  the  statement  of  the  British  commissioners, 
which  is  annexed  to  the  protocol  of  the  sixth  conference,  held 
at  London,  Dec.  16th,  1826.  The  documents  relative  to  this 
negotiation  have  not  as  yet  been  published  by  the  British 
Government,  but  they  were  made  known  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  with  the  message  of  President  Adams,  on 
Dec.  12,  1827,  and  Mr.  Greenhow  has  annexed  the  British 
statement  in  his  Appendix. 

"  Great  Britain,"  it  is  there  said,  "  can  show  thai  in  1788, 


MEARES     LOG-BOOK. 


07 


that  is,  four  ye.irs  before  Gray  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Co. 
hnnhia  ritrr,  Mr.  Meares,  a  lieutenant  of  the  Royal  Mavy, 
who  had  been  sent  by  the  East  India  C'ompany  on  a  trading 
expedition  to  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  had  already 
minutely  explored  the  coast  from  the  19th  to  the  45lh  degree 
of  north  latitude  ;  had  taken  formal  possession  of  the  Straits 
of  De  Fuca  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign ;  had  purchased 
land,  trafiicked  and  formed  treaties  with  the  natives  ;  and  had 
actually  entered  th(  bay  of  the  Columbia^  to  the  north  head- 
land of  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Capo  Disappointment,  a 
name  which  it  bears  to  this  day." 

The  language  of  this  statement,  it  will  be  seen,  is  carefully 
worded,  so  as  not  to  go  beyond  the  actual  facts  narrated  in 
Meares'  Voyage  ;  and  further,  on  referring  to  the  maps  of  the 
coasts  and  harbours  which  he  visited,  it  continues,  "  in  which 
every  part  of  the  coast  in  question,  including  the  Bay  of  the 
Columbia  {info  which  the  log  expressly  stales  that  Meares  en- 
tend,)  is  nunutely  laid  down,  its  delineation  tallying  in  almost 
every  particular  with  Vancouver's  subsequent  survey,  and 
with  the  description  found  in  all  the  best  maps  of  that  part  of 
the  world  adopted  at  this  moment." 

The  entry  in  Meares'  log-book  is  as  follows  :  "  July  6,  lat. 
4G°  10' ;  long.  2.'i5"  24'  ;  northerly ;  strong  gales,  a  great 
sea.  Passed  Cape  Disappointment,  into  Deception  Bay,  and 
hauled  out  again,  and  passed  Quicksand  Bay,  Cape  Gren- 
ville,  and  Cape  Look-out." 

There  is,  therefore,  nothing  strange  in  the  view  which  the 
British  Commissioners  really  insisted  upon,  though  it  is 
strange  that  Mr.  Greenhow  shouhl  have  misconstrued  their 
statement,  particularly  as,  in  a  paragraph  almost  immediately 
following,  which  will  be  referred  to  in  full  in  its  proper  place, 
they  readily  admit  that  Mr.  Gray,  four  years  afterwards,  "  was 
the  lirst  to  ascertain  that  this  bay  formed  the  outlet  of  a  great 


river. 


The  further  examination  of  these  coasts  by  British  subjects 
was  suspended  for  a  short  time,  as  already  seen,  by  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Spanish  authorities.  After,  however,  that  Spain 
had  definitively  abandoned  her  pretensions  to  exclusive  rights 
along  the  entire  northwest  coast  of  America,  as  far  as  Prince 
William's  Sound,  and  agreed,  by  the  third  article  of  the  Con- 
vention  of  1790,  that  occupation  should  be  the  test  of  territo- 
rial title,  the  British  Government  judged  it  expedient  "  to  as- 
certain with  as  much  precision  as  possible  the  number,  ex- 


a 


I 


i 


i'. 


rt  ' 


'1 


1 


t 

I 


I  •! 


98 


CAPH    ORFORD. 


I 


■I 


,-i» 


it, 

■il 


:^ii: 


I 


'pll 


tent,  and  situation  of  any  settlement  which  had  been  made 
within  the  limits  of  CO"  and  30°  north  latitude  by  any  Euro- 
pean nation,  and  the  time  when  such  settlement  was  made. 
With  this  object,  amongst  others  more  immediately  connected 
with  the  execution  of  the  first  article  of  the  Convention,  Cap- 
tain George  Vancouver  was  despatched  from  Deptford  with 
two  vessels  on  January  G,  1791,  and  having  wintered  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  he  was  instructed  to  wait  for  further 
orders  in  reference  to  the  restoration  of  the  buildings  and  tracts 
of  land,  of  which  British  subjects  had  been  dispossessed  at 
Nootka,  he  arrived  off  the  coast  of  America  on  April  17, 1792, 
in  about  39°  30'.  He  had  received  special  instructions  to 
ascertain  the  direction  and  extent  of  all  such  considerable  in- 
lets,  whether  made  by  arms  of  the  sea,  or  by  the  mouths  of 
great  rivers,  which  might  be  likely  to  lead  to,  or  facilitate  in 
any  considerable  degree,  an  intercourse,  for  the  purposes  of 
commerce,  between  the  northwest  coast  and  the  country  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  continent,  which  are  inhabited  or  oc- 
cupied by  his  Majesty's  subjects  ;"  but  he  was  expressly  re- 
quired  and  directed  "not  to  pursue  any  inlet  or  river  further 
than  it  should  appear  to  be  navigable  by  vessels  of  such  bur- 
den as  might  safely  navigate  the  Pacific  Ocean."  (Introduc- 
tion to  Vancouver's  Voyage,  p.  xix.) 

Having  made  a  headland,  which  he  supposed  to  be  Cape 
Mendocino,  Vancouver  directed  his  course  northward,  examin- 
ing carefully  the  line  of  coast,  and  taking  soundings  as  he  pro- 
ceeded. In  about  latitude  42'  52',  longitude  235°  35',  he  re- 
marked  a  low  projecting  headland,  apparently  composed  of 
black  craggy  rocks  in  the  space  between  the  woods  and  the 
wash  of  the  sea,  and  covered  with  wood  nearly  to  the  edge  of 
the  surf,  which,  as  forming  a  very  conspicuous  point,  he  dis- 
tinguished by  the  name  of  Cape  Orford.  Mr.  Greenhow  has 
allowed  his  antipathy  to  Vancouver  to  lead  him  into  an  erro. 
neous  statement  in  respect  to  this  headland.  Vancouver  (Vol. 
i.,  p.  205,  April  25,  1792)  writes  :  "  Some  of  us  were  of  opin- 
ion  that  this  was  the  Cape  Blanco  of  Martin  d'Aguilar  ;  its 
latitude,  however,  differed  greatly  from  that  in  which  Cape 
Blanco  is  placed  by  that  navigator  ;  and  its  dark  appearance, 
which  might  probably  be  occasioned  by  the  haziness  of  the 
weather,  did  not  seem  to  entitle  it  to  the  appellation  of  Cape 
Blanco."  He  afterwards  goes  on  to  say,  that  at  noon,  when 
Cape  Orford  was  visible  astern,  nearly  in  the  horizon,  they 
had  a  projecting  headland  in  sight  on  the  westward,  which 


MR.    OREEXnOW  S    REMARKS. 


09 


he  considored  to  be  Cape  Blanco.  lie  here  ranged  along  the 
coast,  at  the  distance  of  about  a  league,  in  iiope  of  discover, 
inff  the  asserted  river  of  D'Ajfiiilar.  "About  three  in  the 
afternoon,  we  pas.sed  within  a  league  of  the  cape  abovc^  men- 
tioned, and  at  about  half  that  distance  from  some  breakers  that 
lie  to  the  westward  of  it.  This  cape,  though  not  so  project- 
ing a  point  as  Cape  Orford,  is  nevertheless  a  conspicuous  one, 
particularly  when  seen  from  the  north,  being  formed  by  a 
round  hill,  on  high  perpendicular  clifls,  ^some  of  which  are 
white,  a  considerable  height  from  the  level  of  the  sea."  It 
appeared  to  Vancouver  to  correspond  in  se\eral  of  its  features 
with  Captain  C'ook's  description  of  Cape  (Jregory,  though  its 
latitude,  which  he  determined  to  be  43°  2U',  did  not  agree 
with  that  assigned  by  Captain  Cook  to  that  headland  ;  but 
he  again  states,  that  there  was  a  "  probability  of  its  being 
also  the  Cape  Blanco  of  D'Aguilar,  if  land  hereabouts 
the  latter  ever  saw ;"  and  that  "  a  compact  ichite  sandy 
beach  commenced,  where  the  rocky  cliffs  composing  it  termi- 
nate." 

Mr.  Greenhow  remarks  :  "Near  the  43d  degree  of  lati- 
tude,  they  sought  in  vain  for  the  river,  which  Martin  d'Aguilar 
was  said  to  have  seen,  entering  the  Pacitic  thereabouts,  in 
1003  :  and  they  appeared  inclined  to  admit  as  identical  with 
the  Cape  Blanco  of  that  navigator,  a  high,  whitish  promontory, 
in  the  latitude  of  42*^  52',  to  which,  however,  they  did  not 
scruple  to  assign  the  name  of  Cape  Orford."  Had  these  ob. 
serrations  been  made  in  reference  to  Cape  Gregory,  the  high 
cliffs  of  which  are  described  by  Vancouver  as  while,  they 
would  have  been  intelligible  ;  but,  directed  as  ilv.-.y  are  by  Mr. 
Greenhow  against  a  headland  which  Vancouver  expressly  de- 
scribes as  a  "  wedge-like,  low,  perpendicular  clitF,  composed 
of  black  craggy  rock,  with  breakers  upon  sunken  rocks  about 
four  miles  distant,  in  soundings  of  fbrty-tive  fathoms,  black 
sandy  bottom,"  they  expose  Mr.  Greenhow  himself  to  the 
charge  of  not  being  sufficiently  scrupulous  when  assailing  a 
writer,  towards  whom  he  confesses  that  he  feels  considerable 
animosity. 

Having  reached  Cape  Lookout,  in  45°  32'  N.  L.,  Vancou- 
ver examined  with  attention  the  portion  of  coast  which  Meares 
had  seen.  About  ten  leagues  to  the  north  of  this  headland, 
the  mountainous  inland  country  descends  suddenly  to  a  mod- 
erate height,  and  were  it  not  covered  with  lofty  timber,  might 
be  deemed  low  land.     Noon,  "  on  the  27th  of  April,  brought 


u 


1- 1 


:|: 


■  J* 


100 


MR.    BOBERT    GRAV 


r, 


I 

!  ' 


I 

1' 


'    il 


•  I. 


them  in  sight  of  a  conspicuous  point  of  hind,  composed  of  a 
cluster  of  hummocks,  moderately  high,  and  projecting  into  the 
sea  from  the  low  land  above  mentioned.  The  hunnnocks  arc 
barren,  and  steep  near  the  sea,  but  their  to|)s  thinly  covered 
with  wood.  On  the  south  side  of  this  promontory  was  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  inlrl,  or  small  river,  the  land  behind  not  indi- 
eating  it  to  be  of  any  great  extent ;  nor  did  it  seem  accessible 
to  vessels  of  our  burden,  as  the  breakers  extended  from  the 
above  point  two  or  three  miles  into  the  ocean,  until  they  joined 
those  on  the  beach,  three  or  four  leagues  further  south.  On 
reference  to  Mr.  Meares'  description  of  the  coast  south  of 
this  promontory,  I  was  at  first  induced  to  believe  it  to  be  Cape 
Shoalwater ;  but  on  ascertaining  its  localities,  I  presumed  it 
to  be  that  which  ho  calls  Cape  Disappointment,  and  the  open- 
ing south  of  it  Deception  Bay.  This  cape  was  found  to  be  in 
latitude  of  4G°  19',  longitude  236°  G'  cast.  The  sea  had  now 
changed  from  its  natural  to  river -cohin-cd  water,  the  probable 
consequence  of  some  streams  falling  into  the  bay,  or  into  the 
opening  north  of  it,  through  the  low  land.  Not  considering 
this  opening  worthy  of  our  attention,  I  continued  our  pursuit 
to  the  northwest,  being  desirous  to  embrace  the  advantages  of 
the  now-prevailing  breeze  and  pleasant  weather,  so  favour- 
able to  our  examination  of  the  coasts." 

The  purport  of  Vancouver's  observations  in  the  passage 
just  cited  will  not  be  correctly  appreciated,  unless  his  instruc- 
tions are  kept  in  mind,  which  directed  his  attention  exclu- 
sively to  such  inlets  or  rivers  which  should  appear  to  be  navi- 
gable to  sea-going  vessels,  and  be  likely  to  facilitate  in  any 
considerable  degree  a  communication  with  the  northwest 
coast.  Vancouver  seems  to  have  advanced  a  step  beyond 
Heceta  in  observing  the  river-coloured  ivater,  and  so  determin- 
ing  the  inlet  not  to  be  a  strait  of  the  sea  ;  but  he  rightly  do- 
cided  that  the  openi.ig  in  the  north  part  of  the  bay  was  not 
worthy  of  attention,  either  in  respect  to  his  main  object  of  dis- 
covering a  water-communication  with  the  northwest  coast,  or 
to  the  prospect  of  its  affording  a  certain  shelter  to  sea-going 
vessels. 

Vancouver,  as  he  approached  De  Fuca's  Straits  on  29th 
April,  when  ofi'  Cape  Flattery,  fell  in  with  the  merchant  ship 
Columbia,  commanded  by  Mr.  Robert  Gray,  which  had  sailed 
from  Boston  on  the  28th  Sept.,  1788.  Captain  Gray  had  for- 
merly commanded  the  Washington,  when  that  vessel  and  the 
Columbia,  commanded  by  Captain  John  Kendrick,  visited 


^ 


CROSSES    THE    BAR    OF    THE    COLVMBtA. 


101 


\ootka  in  17r?8.  Ifiivitij;  ijrivcn  N'lincotivcr  sonu»  information 
respcctinn;  l)e  I'nca's  Straits,  ho  statrd  that  lie  ha<l  "hecn  oil' 
the  mouth  of  a  river  in  the  hilitmle  ol'iO^  10',  where  the  out- 
set,  or  rethix,  wiih  so  .sfron*;  as  to  |»revent  his  cnterin<;  it  for 
nine  (hiys.  This,"  continues  \  an((»nver,  "was  prohahiy  tho 
o])eninj^  pa^iscd  by  us  on  the  forenoon  of  the  iiTth,  an«l  was 
apparently  th»Mi  inacressihle,  not  iVoni  tlie  current,  hut  from 
the  breakers  that  exfeiuh-d  across  il."  (Jray  at  this  time  had 
not  succeeded  in  passinj;  the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  tho  Cohnn- 
})ia.  Afler  parting  from  X'ancouver,  ho  continued  his  course 
to  the  southward  tor  the  purj»oses  of  his  summer  trade.  Tho 
extract  trom  liis  own  h)j^-boMk,  which  Mr.  (ireenhow  lias  in- 
sorted  in  his  Appendix,  will  furnish  the  best  acooimt  of  Ids 
proceedings  : — ".May  1 1th,  at  1  a.  m.  saw  the  entrance  of  our 
desired  port  bearing  I*]. S.E.,  distance  six  leagues;  in  steering 
sails,  and  hauled  our  wind  in  shore.  At  8  a.  3i.,  being  a  lit- 
tie  to  windward  of  the  entrance  into  the  harbour,  boro  away 
and  run  in  E.N.li.  between  the  breakers,  having  from  five  to 
seven  fathoms  water.  When  we  came  over  the  bar,  we  found 
this  to  be  a  large  river  of  fresh  water,  up  which  we  steered." 

In  the  IJritish  statement  it  is  admitted  that  "  Mr.  CJray, 
finding  himself  in  the  bay  formed  by  the  discharge  of  the  wa- 
ters  of  the  Columbia  into  the  Pacific,  was  the  first  to  ascer- 
tain that  this  bay  formed  the  outlet  of  a  great  river — a  discov- 
ery which  had  escaped  Lieutenant  Meares,  when  in  1788, 
four  years  before,  he  entered  the  same  bay." 

This  passage  has  been  quoted  to  show  that  the  claim  of 
Captain  Gray  to  the  honour  of  having  first  crossed  tho  bar  of 
the  river  has  not  been  impeached  by  the  British  Commis- 
sioners, lie  gave  to  the  river  the  name  of  his  own  vessel,  the 
Columbia. 

The  Columbia  remained  at  anchor  on  tho  12th  and  13th. 
On  the  14th  of  May,  Gray  weighed  anchor,  and  stood  up  the 
river  N.E.  by  E. 

The  log-book  of  the  Columbia  furnishes  the  following  ex- 
tract : — 

"  We  found  the  channel  very  narrow.  At  4  p.m.  we  had 
sailed  upwards  of  twelve  or  fitleen  miles,  when  the  chan  el 
was  so  very  narrow  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  in 
it,  having  from  three  to  eighteen  fathoms  water,  sandy  bot- 
tom. At  half-past  four  the  ship  took  ground,  but  she  did  not 
stay  long  before  she  came  ofi",  without  any  assi-stance.  Wo 
backed  her  off  stern-foremost  into  three  fathoms,  and  let  go 


)i 


r 


i\\ 


: 


'! 


loa 


VANCOUVER    DEFENDED 


<\ 


1 

!  ■; 

L       , 

■*  I 

i 

a 

1 

ML^.-. 

the  small  bowrr,  and  moved  ship  with  kedgo  and  hawser. 
The  jolly-boat  was  sent  to  sound  the  channel  out,  hut  found 
it  not  navigal)le  any  further  up ;  so  of  course  ire  must  have  taken 
the  irroniT  channel.  So  ends^  with  rainy  weather  ;  many  na- 
tives  alongside."  On  the  following  day  (Iray  unmoored,  and 
dropped  down  the  river  with  the  tidts  On  the  18lh  ho  made 
the  latitude  of  the  entrance  to  he  40^  17'  north.  On  the  2()th 
he  succeeded,  after  some  dilliculty,  in  beating  over  the  bar 
out  to  sea. 

This  log-book,  the  authenticity  of  which  is  vouched  for  by 
Mr.  HulHnch,  of  Boston,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Columbia, 
aftbrds  the  best  evidence  that  Captain  Gray's  claim  is  limited 
to  the  discovery  of  the  fnonth  of  the  Columbia,  a  discovery  dif- 
ferent indeed  in  dearer  from  lleceta's  or  Vancouver's,  and  en- 
titled to  higher  consideration,  but  not  diflerent  in  kind.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  problem  to  be  solved  was  the 
discovery  of  the  Great  River  of  the  West,  but  this  problem 
was  surely  not  solved  by  Gray,  who  expressly  states  that  the 
channel  which  he  explored  was  not  navigai)le  any  further  up 
than  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  from  the  entrance  ;  "  so  of 
course,"  he  adds,  "  we  must  have  taken  the  wrong  channel." 
But  such  a  description  would  hardly  have  convinced  the  world 
that  Gray  had  succeeded  in  discovering  the  Great  River,  un- 
less  Lieutenant  Broughton  had  subsequently  succeeded  in  en- 
tering the  right  channel,  and  had  explored  its  course  for  the 
distance  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles  from  the  sea.  But 
the  reputation  of  this  enterprising  man  needs  no  fictitious  lau- 
rels. He  was  decidedly  the  first  to  solve  the  difllicult  ques- 
tion of  their  being  a  passage,  such  as  it  is,  over  the  bar  of  the 
river. 

Mr.  Greenhow,  in  commenting  upon  Gray's  discovery,  ob- 
serves, "  Had  Gray,  after  parting  with  the  English  ships,  not 
returned  to  the  river,  and  ascended  it  as  he  did,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  it  would  have  long  remained  unknown  ; 
for  the  assertion  of  Vancouver,  that  no  opening,  harbour,  or 
place  of  refuge  for  vessels  was  to  be  found  between  Cape 
Mendocino  and  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  that  this  part  of  the 
coast  formed  one  compact,  solid,  and  nearly  straight  barrier 
against  the  sea,  would  have  served  completely  to  overthrow  the 
evidence  of  the  American  fur-trader,  and  to  prevent  any  further 
attempts  to  examine  those  shores,  or  even  to  approach  them." 

Now  the  evidence  of  the  American  fur-trader,  had  he  not 
returned  to  the  river^  would  have  needed  no  Vancouver  to 


DROUOIITON    CROSSES    THE    BAR. 


loS 


ovprthrow  it,  for  it  would  have  amounted  to  this,  tliat  Gray 
had  boon  ofTthe  mouth  of  a  river  for  nine  <lays,  without  hcin;; 
nl»h^  to  (Mitor  it  ;  whereas  ^'an(•ouver's  own  statement  would 
have  been,  that  on  the  south  si(h^  of  Capo  l)isa|)[)ointm(>nt 
there  was  the  appearance  of  an  inlet  or  small  river,  "  which 
did  not  however  seem  accessible  for  vessels  of  our  burthen," 
as  breakers  extended  ri«j[ht  across  it.  Mr.  (iroenliow  misre- 
presents Vanc«)uver,  when  ho  states  that  Meares' opinion  was 
subscribe*!  witliout  qualification  by  V^ancouver,  for  Vancouver 
carefully  limits  his  opinion  of  the  river  to  its  beinpf  inacces- 
sible to  vessels  of  e(jual  burthen  with  his  own  slooj)  of  war, 
the  Discovery. 

(rray,  after  entering  the  Columbia,  appears  to  have  returned 
to  Nootka,  and  to  have  given  to  JSefior  (Quadra,  the  Spanish 
commandant,  a  sketch  of  the  river.  Vancouver,  having  at- 
tempted  in  vain  to  conclude  a  satisfactory  arrangement  with 
Quadra  in  respect  to  the  fulfdment  of  the  first  article  of  the 
Nootka  Convention,  determined  to  re-examino  the  coast  of 
New  Albion.  With  this  object  he  sailed  southward  in  the 
Discovery,  accompanied  by  the  Chatham  and  the  Dicdalus. 
The  Dicdalus  having  been  left  to  explore  (Jray's  harbour  in 
46°  53',  the  Discovery  and  Chatham  proceeded  round  Cape 
Disappointment,  and  the  Chatham,  under  Lieutenant  Brough- 
ton,  was  directed  to  lead  into  the  Cohnnbia  river,  and  to  sig- 
nalize her  consort  if  only  four  fathoms  water  should  be  found 
over  the  bar.  The  Discovery  followed  the  Chatham,  till  Van- 
couver  found  the  water  to  shoal  to  three  fathoms,  with  break- 
ers all  around,  which  induced  him  to  haul  off  to  the  west- 
ward, and  anchor  outside  the  bar  in  ten  fathoms.  The  Chat- 
ham, in  the  meantime,  cast  anchor  in  the  midst  of  the 
breakers,  where  she  rode  in  four  fathoms,  with  the  surf  break- 
ing over  her.  "  My  former  opinion,"  writes  Vancouver,  "  of 
this  port  being  inaccessible  to  vessels  of  our  burthen  was  now 
fully  confirmed,  with  this  exception,  that  in  very  fine  weather, 
with  moderate  winds  and  a  smooth  sea,  vessels  not  exceeding 
400  tons  might,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  judge,  gain  admit- 
tance." It  maybe  observed  that  the  vessels  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  by  which  the  commerce  of  this  part  of  the 
country  is  almost  exclusively  carried  on,  do  not  exceed  360 
tons,  and  draw  only  fourteen  feet  water.  Captain  Wilkes, 
in  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  vol.  iv.,  p.  489, 
speaks  of  a  vessel  of  from  500  to  600  tons,  the  Lausanne,  hav- 
ing navigated  the  Columbia ;  on  the  other  band,  the  Starling, 


r.   \ 


! 


1 


104 


DANGERS    OF   THE    NAVIGATION. 


\) 


II- 


ini. 


which  accompanied  the  Sulphur  exploring  vessel,  under  Cap- 
tain Belcher,  in  July,  1839,  left  her  rudder  on  the  bar,  and  the 
American  corvette,  the  Peacock,  which  attempted  to  enter  the 
river  in  July,  1841,  was  lost  in  very  fine  weather,  having 
been  drifted  amongst  the  breakers  by  the  set  of  the  current. 

When  it  is  known  that  ilu  vessels  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  have  been  obliged  to  lie-to  oft'  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  for  upwards  of  two  months  before  they  could  ven- 
ture to  cross  the  bar,  and  that  vessels  have  been  detained  in- 
side the  bar  for  upwards  of  six  weeks,  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged that  Vancouver's  declaration  of  the  probable  character 
of  the  river  has  not  fallen  very  wide  of  the  mark. 

On  the  next  day  the  Chatham  succeeded,  with  the  flood- 
tide,  in  leading  through  the  channel,  and  anchored  in  a  toler- 
ably snug  cove  inside  Cape  Disappointment ;  but  the  Discov- 
ery, not  having  made  so  much  way,  was  driven  out  by  a 
strong  ebb  tide  into  13  fathoms  water,  where  she  anchored 
for  the  night,  and  on  the  following  day  was  forced  by  a  gale 
of  wind  to  stand  out  to  sea,  and  to  abandon  all  hope  of  regain- 
ing the  river. 

On  the  Chatham  rounding  the  inner  point  of  Cape  Disap- 
pointment, they  were  surprised  to  hear  a  gun  fired  from  a  ves- 
sel, which  hoisted  English  colours,  and  proved  to  be  the  Jen- 
ny, a  small  schooner  of  Bristol,  commanded  by  Mr.  James 
Baker,  which  had  sailed  fi'om  Nootka  Sound  direct  to  Eng- 
land, before  Vancouver  started.  This  cove  or  bay  inside 
Cape  Disappointment  was  in  consequence  named,  by  Lieut. 
Broughton,  Baker's  Bay,  which  name  it  retains,  and  it  ap- 
peared from  Captain  Baker's  account  that  this  was  not  the 
first  occasion  of  his  entering  the  river,  but  that  he  had  been 
there  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  year. 

The  Chatham  in  the  meantime  proceeded  up  the  inlet,  and 
having  in  her  course  grounded  for  a  short  time  on  a  shoal, 
anchored  ultimately  a  little  below  the  bay  which  had  termi- 
nated Gray's  researches,  to  which  Gray  had  given  his  own 
name  in  his  chart.  The  sketch  of  this,  with  which  Vancou- 
ver had  been  favoured  by  the  Spanish  commandant  at  Nootka, 
was  found  by  Broughton  not  to  resemble  much  what  it  pur- 
ported to  represent,  nor  did  it  mark  the  shoal  on  which  the 
Chatham  grounded,  though  it  was  an  extensive  one,  lying  in 
mid-channel.  The  bay,  for  instance,  which  Lieut.  Brough- 
ton found  to  be  not  more  than  fifleen  miles  from  Cape  Disap- 
pointment, was,  according  to  the  sketch,  thirty-six  miles  dis- 


■% 


POINT    VANCOUVER. 


105 


)  <l 


tant.  Broiifrliton  left  tlie  Chatham  liore,  and  determined  to 
pursue  the  tiirther  examination  of  the  channel  in  the  cutter 
and  the  launch. 

At  the  distance  of  about  twenty-five  miles  from  the  sea, 
Broughton  tbund  the  stream  narrow  rather  suddenly  to  about 
half  a  mile  in  breadth,  which  sci-med  to  warrant  him  in  con- 
sidering the  lower  part,  (the  width  of  which  was  from  three 
to  seven  miles,)  to  be  a  sound  or  inlet,  and  the  true  entrance 
of  the  river  itself  to  commence  from  the  point  where  it  con- 
tracted itself,  liroughton  continued  his  ascent  for  seven  davs, 
making  but  slow  progress  against  a  strong  stream.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  he  was  obligi'd  to  return  from  want  of  pro- 
visions,  having  reached  a  point  which  he  concluded  to  bo 
about  100  miles  distant  from  the  Chatham's  anchorage,  and 
nearly  120  from  the  sea.  He  was  the  more  readily  recon- 
ciled to  the  abandonment  of  any  further  examination,  "  be- 
cause even  thus  far  the  river  could  hardly  be  considered  as 
navigable  for  shipping."  Previously,  however,  to  his  depar 
ture,  he  formally  "took  possession  of  the  river  and  the  coun- 
try in  its  vicinity  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  name,  having 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  subjects  of  no  other  civilised 
nation  or  state  had  ever  entered  this  river  before."  Brough- 
ton  had  fallen  in  with  large  parties  of  Indians  in  his  ascent 
of  the  river,  and  had  been  kindly  received  by  them.  Amongst 
these  was  a  friendly  old  chief,  who  accompanied  them  almost 
throughout  the  voyage,  and  who  assisted  at  the  ceremony  and 
drank  his  Majesty's  health  on  the  occasion."  It  may  be  rea- 
sonably suspected  that  this  worthy  old  chief  would  have  as 
readily  joined  the  next  comers  in  drinking  the  health  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  or  the  President  of  the  United  States.  From 
him  Broughton  endeavoured  to  obtain  further  information 
respecting  the  upper  country.  "  The  little  that  could  be 
understood  was,  that  higher  up  the  river,  they  would  be  pre. 
vented  from  passing  by  falls.  This  was  explained  by  taking 
water  up  in  his  hands,  and  imitating  the  manner  of  its  falling 
from  rocks,  pointing  at  the  same  time  to  the  place  where  the 
river  rises,  indicating  that  its  source  in  that  direction  would 
be  found  at  a  great  distance." 

The  furthest  angle  of  the  river  which  Broughton  reached 
was  called  by  him  Point  Vancouver,  and  upon  it  stands  in  the 
present  day  Fort  Vancouver,  the  chief  establishment  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  A  little  above  this  are  the  Cas- 
cades,  a  series  of  fallit  and  rapids  extending  more  than  half  a 


:*' 


il 


M 


1 


106 


Mn.    OREENIIUW  S   CRITICISM. 


I- 


•  I.. 


mile,  which  form  ihe  limit  of  the  tide-way  ;  about  thirty  miles 
higher  up  are  the  Dalles,  where  the  river  rushes  rapidly  be- 
tween vast  masses  of  rocks,  and  about  four  miles  further  are 
the  Chutes  or  Falls  of  the  Columbia-,  where  the  river  first 
enters  the  gap  in  the  Cascade  mountains,  through  which  it 
finds  its  way  to  the  ocean.  Lieutenant  Broughton,  having 
occupied  twelve  days  in  the  examination  of  the  channel,  pre- 
pared to  join  the  Discovery  without  delay ;  but  for  four  days 
the  surf  broke  across  the  passage  of  the  bar  with  such  vio- 
lence,  as  to  leave  no  apparent  opening.  At  last  he  succeeded 
in  beating  out,  the  Jenny  schooner  leading,  as  her  command- 
er Mr.  Baker  was  better  acquainted  with  the  course  of  the 
channel,  and  afler  nearly  losing  their  launch  and  the  boat- 
keeper  in  the  surf,  they  once  more  reached  the  open  sea. 
Such  is  the  summary  of  the  account,  which  may  be  perused  in 
full  in  the  second  volume  of  Vancouver's  Voyage. 

Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  248)  considers  that  the  distinction  which 
Broughton  and  Vancouver  made  "  between  the  upper  and 
lower  portion  of  the  Columbia,  is  entirely  destitute  of  founda- 
tion, and  at  variance  with  the  principles  of  our  whole  geogra- 
phical nomenclature.  Inlets  and  sounds,"  he  continues,  "  are 
arms  of  the  sea  running  up  into  the  land,  and  their  waters, 
being  supplied  from  the  sea,  are  necessarily  salt ;  the  waters 
of  the  Columbia  are  on  the  contrary  generally  fresh  and  pal- 
atable within  ten  miles  of  the  Pacific,  the  violence  and  over- 
bearing  force  of  the  current  being  sufficient  to  prevent  the  fur- 
ther ingress  of  the  ocean.  The  question  appears  at  first  to  be 
of  no  consequence  :  the  following  extract  from  Vancouver's 
Journal  will,  however,  serve  to  show  that  the  quibble  was  de- 
vised by  the  British  navigators,  with  the  unworthy  object  of 
depriving  Gray  of  the  merits  of  his  discovery  : — 'Previously 
to  his  (Broughton's)  departure,  he  formally  took  possession  of 
the  river,  and  the  country  in  its  vicinity,  in  his  Britannic  Ma- 
jesty's  name,  having  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  subjects 
of  no  other  civilised  nation  or  state  had  ever  entered  this  river 
before.  In  this  opinion  he  was  confirmed  by  Mi  Gray's 
sketch,  in  which  it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Gray  eiiuer  saw 
or  ever  was  within  five  leagues  of  its  entrance.'  This  unjust 
view  has  been  adopted  hy  the  British  Government  and  wri- 
ters, and  also,  doubtless  from  inadvertency,  by  some  distin- 
guished  authors  in  the  United  States.  It  may,  indeed,  be  con- 
sidered fortunate  for  Gray,  that  by  communicating  the  particu- 
lar! of  his  discoveriesi  as  he  did|  to  Quadra,  he  secured  an 


III 


'S 


ll!i 


VANCOUVER    VINDICATED    AGAINST    MU.  OREENHOW.    107 


thirty  miles 

rapidly  be- 

I'urther  are 

J  river  first 

^h  which  it 

ton,  having 

tannel,  pre. 

)r  four  days 

such  vio- 

succeeded 

command- 

urse  of  the 

id  the  boat' 

}  open  sea. 

;  perused  in 

ction  which 
upper  and 
3  of  founda- 
ole  geogra- 
inues,  "  are 
eir  waters, 
the  waters 
!sh  and  pal. 
J  and  over- 
rent the  fur- 
t  first  to  be 
'^ancouver's 
ble  was  de- 
ly  object  of 
Previously 
)ssession  of 
tannic  Ma. 
he  subjects 
d  this  river 
ill     Gray's 
eiiiier  saw 
rhis  unjust 
it  and  wri- 
nie  distin. 
ed,  be  con. 
he  particu- 
secured  an 


unimpeachable  witness  of  his  claims  :  had  he  not  done  so, 
the  world  would  probably  never  have  learned  that  a  citizen  of 
the  United  States  was  the  first  to  enter  the  greatest  river 
flowing  from  America  into  the  Pacific,  and  to  find  the  only 
safe  harbour  on  the  long  line  of  coast  between  Port  San  Fran- 
cisco and  the  Strait  of  Fuca." 

Mr.  Greenhow  may  be  perfectly  justified  in  disputing  the 
propriety  of  Lt.  Broughton's  distinction.  The  words  of  the 
latter  are, — "  Between  the  ocean  and  that  which  should  pro- 
perly be  considered  the  entrance  of  the  river,  is  a  space  from 
three  to  seven  miles  wide,  intricate  to  navigate  on  account  of 
the  shoals  that  extend  nearly  from  side  to  side,  and  it  ought 
rather  to  be  considered  as  a  sound  than  as  constituting  a  part 
of  the  river,  since  the  entrance  into  the  river,  which  they 
reached  about  dark,  was  found  not  to  be  more  than  half  a 
mile  wide,  formed  by  the  contracting  shores  of  the  sound." 
It  may  fairly  be  admitted  that  the  ordinary  use  of  the  terms 
"  sound,"  or  "  inlet,"  warrants  the  verbal  criticism  of  Mr. 
Greenhow,  and  that  they  are  more  usually  employed  to  dis. 
tinguish  arms  of  the  sea  where  there  is  no  fresh  water,  or 
tideways  outside  the  bars  of  rivers.  Lieutenant  Broughton, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  context  would  have  been  more 
correct  had  he  used  the  term  "  estuary"  instead  of  "  sound," 
for,  "  in  common  understanding,"  as  Lord  Stowell  has  ob. 
served,  "  the  embouchure  or  mouth  of  a  river  is  that  spot 
where  the  river  enters  the  open  space  to  which  the  sea  flows, 
and  where  the  points  of  the  coast  project  no  further."  (Twee 
Gebroeden,  3  Robinson's  Reports,  p.  34.)  At  the  same  time, 
after  a  careful  perusal  of  Vancouver's  journal,  a  protest  must 
be  entered  against  any  reader  of  that  work,  particularly 
against  one  who  occupies  the  position  which  Mr.  Greenhow 
fills,  attributing  such  motives  to  the  British  navigator,  or  in- 
sinuating such  a  probability  as  that  Gray's  discovery  would 
have  been  suppressed  by  Vancouver,  had  not  Gray  fortunately 
secured  Quadra  as  an  unimpeachable  witness  to  it.  Mr. 
Greenhow's  jealousy  for  the  fame  of  his  countryman  may 
be  excusable  up  to  a  certain  point,  but  when  he  states  that 
Vancouver  "did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  unworthy  means  to 
deprive  the  Americans  of  the  reputation  which  they  had  justly 
earned  by  their  labours  in  exploring,  and  to  blacken  their 
characters  as  individuals,"  he  has  allowed  an  unreasonable 
sensitiveness  to  hurry  him  into  the  commission  of  the  very 
fault  which  he  censures  in  othere,  and  has  laid  himself  open 


U 


•  ^ 


108     PROGRESSIVE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  COLUMBIA  RIVER. 


I 


V 

1    ' 
1    "*  I 

i 

ii        , 

, 

< 

1; 

<  '^ 

)  ' 

■ 
■ 

[     ' 

"i\\ 

1 

:\' 

'   i   r 

i 

to  the  identical  charge,  mutatis  mutandis,  which  he  has  set  up 
against  Vancouver. 

Had  there  been  any  suhslnnlial  misrepresentation  on  the 
part  of  Vancouver  in  respect  to  what  Gray  actually  did  dis- 
cover,  "a  want  of  good  faith"  might  have  been  reasonably 
imputed  to  him.  Happily,  however,  for  Vancouver's  memory, 
the  extract  from  the  log-book  of  the  Columbia  bears  out  all 
the  facts  which  Lieutenant  Broughton  alleges  as  to  the  extent 
of  Gray's  researches.  "  From  this  point,"  the  latter  says, 
alluding  to  a  remarkable  projecting  point  on  the  southern 
side,  appearing  like  an  island,  a  little  above  Point  George,  to 
which  the  name  of  Tongue  Point  was  given,  "  was  seen  the 
centre  of  a  deep  bay,  lying  at  the  distance  of  seven  miles  N. 
26  E.  This  bay  terminated  the  researches  of  Mr.  Gray  ;  and 
to  commemorate  his  discovery,  it  was  called  after  him,  Gray's 
Bay."  "In  Mr.  Gray's  sketch,"  Broughton  further  informs 
us,  "  an  anchor  was  placed  in  this  bay,"  so  that  he  does  not 
attempt  in  any  way  to  misrepresent  the  locality  of  the  spot 
where  Gray's  researches  terminated.  Lieutenant  Broughton 
certainly  denies  the  correctness  of  the  sketch  in  respect  to 
the  distance  of  this  bay  from  the  entrance  of  the  river.  "  It 
was  not  more,"  he  writes,  "  than  fifteen  miles  from  Cape  Dis- 
appointment, though  according  to  the  sketch  it  measures 
thirty-six  miles."  But  the  log-book  itself  confirms  approxi- 
matively  Lieutenant  Broughton's  statement,  for  it  makes  the 
distance  of  the  spot  where  Gray  brought  up  his  vessel  to  be 
about  twenty-two  or  twenty-five  miles  from  the  entrance 
between  the  bars,  and  Cape  Disappointment  is  six  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  entrance,  so  that  there  must  have  been  an  error 
in  the  sketch,  if  we  admit  the  accuracy  of  the  log-book. 

The  result  of  this  inquiry  seems  fully  to  warrant  the  posi- 
tion which  the  British  commissioners  insisted  on  in  18'26-7, 
that  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia  river  was  a  progressive 
discovery.  Heceta  made  the  first  step  in  1775,  when  he  dis- 
covered the  bay,  and  concluded  that  "  the  place  was  the  mouth 
of  some  great  river,  or  of  some  passage  to  another  sea  ;"  but 
Heceta's  report  was  not  made  public  by  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties. Meares,  in  1788,  confirmed  Heceta's  discovery  of  the 
bay,  but  impugned  the  correctness  of  the  Spanish  charts,  as 
to  there  being  a  river  there  with  a  good  port ;  his  Voyages 
were  published  in  London  in  1790.  Vancouver,  having  seen 
Meares'  account  before  he  left  England,  examined  the  bay  in 
April  1792,  and  at  that  time  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  though 


•ii 


CLAIM    OF    THE   UNITED    STATES. 


100 


there  was  river-coloured  water  in  the  bay,  yet  the  opening 
was  not  worthy  of  attention,  as  being  inaccessible  to  vessels 
of  the  same  burden  as  the  Discovery  :  his  account  was  pub- 
lished  in  1798.  Gray,  in  the  May  following,  after  having  on 
.1  lornier  occasion  beat  about  in  the  bay  lor  nine  days  ineftec- 
tually,  succeeded  on  his  second  visit  in  passing  the  bar,  anu 
explored  the  estuary  lor  more  than  twenty  miles  :  the  extract 
of  his  log-book,  which  relates  the  particulars,  was  not  mado 
public  before  1816.  Lieutenant  Broughton  in  the  same  year 
may  be  considered  to  have  completed  the  discovery  of  the 
river,  by  ascending  it  for  more  than  eighty  miles  above  the 
limits  of  Gray's  researches,  almost  to  the  foot  of  the  Cascades, 
where  the  tide  ceases  to  be  felt :  the  particulars  of  this  expe- 
dition were  published  in  the  2nd  vol.  of  Vancouver's  Voyage, 
in  1708. 

The  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  Mr'.  Gallatin,  on 
the   other  hand,  repudiated  the  notion  of  Gray's  enterprise 
being  considered  as  only  a  step  in  the  progress  of  discovery, 
and  maintained  that  the  discovery  of  the  river  belonged  ex- 
clusively to  the   United  States  ;  that  Quadra  (or  he  should 
have  said,  Heceta)  had  overlooked  it;  that  Meares  had  like- 
wise  failed,  and  Vancouver  had  been  not  more  fortunate  ; 
and  that  Broughton's  merit  consisted  merely  in  performing 
with  fidelity  the  mechanical  duty  of  taking  the  soundings  100 
miles  up  its  course.     Upon  the  fact  of  this  asserted  first  dis- 
covery in  1792,  followed  by  the  settlement  of  Astoria  in  1812, 
Mr.  Rush,  announced,  for  the  first  time,  in   1824,   "that  the 
United  States  claimo'l  in  their  own  right,  and  in  their  abso- 
lute and  exclusive  sovereignty  and  dominion,  the  whole  of  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  the  42d  to  at  least 
as  far  up  as  the  51st  degree  of  north  latitude."     "It  had  been 
ascertained  that  the  Columbia  extended  by  the  River  Mult, 
nomah  to  as  low  as  42  degrees  north,  and  by  Clarke's  river 
to  a  point  as  high  up  as  .51  degrees,  if  not  beyond  that  point ; 
and  to  this  entire  range  of  country,  contiguous  to  the  original 
dominions,  and  made  a  part  of  it  by  the  almost  intermingling 
waters  of  each,  the  United  States,*'  he  said,  "considered  their 
title  as  established,  by  all  the  principles  that  had  ever  been 
applied  on  this  subject  by  the  powers  of  Europe  to  settlements 
in  the  American  hemisphere.      I  asserted,"  he  continued, 
"  that  a  nation  discovering  a  country,  by  entering  the  mouth 
of  its  principal  river  at  the  sea  coast,  must  necessarily  be 
allowed  to  claim  and  hold  as  great  an  extent  of  the  interior 

6 


rv 


il  ! 


h 


'a 


|i 


Hji^'! 


!':'•    fl 


' ,    1 

4 

ii 

' 

:i 

1  ■ 

:il' 

•# 

li; 


110 


DENIED    BY    GREAT    BUITAI.X. 


country  as  was  described  by  the  course  of  such  principal 
river,  and  its  tributary  streams." 

Great  Britain  formally  entered  her  dissent  to  such  a  claim, 
denying  that  such  a  principle  or  usage  had  been  ever  recog- 
nised  amongst  the  nations  of  Europe,  or  that  the  expedition  of 
Captain  Gray,  being  one  of  a  purely  mercantile  character, 
was  entitled  to  carry  with  it  sucli  important  national  conse. 
quences,  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1825-6.) 

In  the  subsequent  discussions  of  1826-7,  Great  Britain  con- 
sidered it  equally  due  to  herself  and  to  other  powers  to  renew 
her  protest  against  the  doctrine  of  the  United  States,  whilst 
on  the  other  hand  the  United  States  continued  to  maintain, 
that  Gray's  discovery  of  the  Columbia  river  gave,  by  the  ac- 
knowledged law  and  usage  of  nations,  a  right  to  the  whole 
country  drained  by  that  river  and  its  tributary  streams. 

Having  now  passed  in  review  the  main  facts  connected 
with  the  discovery  and  occupation  of  the  Oregon  territory,  we 
may  proceed  to  consider  the  general  principles  of  international 
law  which  regulate  territorial  title. 


Jill|.'!:!| 


1;' 


lii 


1: 

M). 


m 

i  /   ' 

A 

Hi 
i  11  V  ■ 

Ill 


principal 

h  a  claim, 
er  recog. 
edition  of 
jharacter, 
ai  conse. 

itain  con- 
to  renew 
Bs,  whilst 
maintain, 
y  the  ac- 
he  whole 

IS. 

onnected 
itory,  we 
rnational 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ON  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  TERRITORY  BV  OCCUPATION, 

Connexion  of  the  Sovereignty  of  a  Nation  with  the  Domain. — Vattcl. 
The  Sovereignty  and  Eminent  Domain  C Dominium  cminens)  attend 
on  Settlement  by  a  Nation. — Settlement  by  an  Individual  limited  to  the 
Acquisition  of  the  Useful  Domain  CDomiiiium  utile.)  A  Nation  may 
occupy  a  Country  by  its  Agents,  as  by  settling  a  Colony.  Kluber's 
Droits  des  Gens. — The  Occupation  must  be  the  Act  of  the  State. — 
Occupation  constitutes  a  perfect  Title. — Bracton  dc  Lejribus. — Wolff's 
Jus  Gentium. — Acts  accessorial  to  Occupation,  such  as  Discovery, 
Settlement,  &c.,  create  only  an  imperfect  Title. 

"  When  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  country  to  which  no 
prior  O'^ner  can  lay  claim,  it  is  considered  as  acquiring  the 
empire  or  sovereignty  over  it,  at  the  same  time  with  the  do. 
main.  For,  since  the  nation  is  free  and  independent,  it  can 
have  no  intention,  in  settling  in  a  country,  to  leave  to  others 
the  rights  of  command,  or  any  of  those  rights  that  constitute 
sovereignty?  The  whole  space  over  which  a  nation  ex- 
tends its  government,  becomes  the  scat  of  its  jurisdiction,  and 
is  called  its  territory."     (Vattel,  b.  i.,  §  205.) 

The  acquisition  of  sovereignty,  therefore,  attends  as  a 
necessary  consequence  upon  the  establishment  of  a  nation  in 
a  country.  But  a  nation  may  establish  itself  in  a  country, 
either  by  immigration  in  a  body,  or  by  sending  forth  a  colony  ; 
and  when  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  vacant  country,  and 
settles  a  colony  there,  "  that  country,  though  separated  from 
the  principal  establishment  or  mother  country,  naturally  be- 
comes a  part  of  the  state,  equally  with  its  ancient  posses- 
sions,  (Vattel,  b.  i.,  §  210.) 

The  right  o^  domain  in  a  nation  corresponds  to  the  right  of 
property  in  an  individual.  But  every  nation  that  governs 
itself  by  its  own  authority  and  laws,  without  dependence  on 
any  foreign  power,  is  a  sovereign  state  ;  and  when  it  acts  as 
a  nation,  it  acts  in  a  sovereign  capacity.  When  a  nation 
therefore  occupies  a  vacant  country,  it  imports  its  sovereignty 
with  it,  and  its  sovereignty  entitles  it  not  merely  to  a  dis- 


..  I 


.r  • 


^  1 

t 


l\^' 


112 


TERRITORIAL    OCCUPATION. 


l; 


if. 


■'I 


iu!' 


! 


;)'.:: . 


■■"til 


'".  it,;' 


posing  power  over  all  the  property  within  it,  which  is  termed 
its  Eminent  Domain,  but  liiiewise  to  an  exclusive  right  of 
command  in  all  places  ot  the  country  which  it  has  taken  pos- 
session ot.  In  this  respect,  then,  a  nation  diflers  from  an 
individual,  that,  aiinougn  an  mdependent  individual  may  settle 
in  a  country  which  he  finds  without  an  owner,  and  there 
possess  an  independent  domain  (the  dominium  utile,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  dominium  eminens,)  yet  he  cannot  arro- 
gate to  himself  an  exclusive  right  to  the  country,  or  to  the 
empire  over  it.  His  occupation  of  it  would  be,  as  against 
other  nations,  rash  and  ridiculous  (Vattel,  b.  ii.,  §  96 ;)  and  it 
would  be  termed,  in  the  language  of  the  Jus  Gentium,  a 
"  tcmeraria  occupatio,  quae  nullum  juris  effectum  pare  re 
potest,"  (Wolffii  Jus  Gentium,  §  308.) 

A  nation,  however,  may  delegate  its  sovereign  authority  to 
one  or  more  of  its  members  for  the  occupation  of  a  vacant 
country,  equally  as  for  other  purposes,  where  it  cannot  act  in 
a  body ;  in  such  cases  the  practice  of  nations  allows  it  to  bo 
represented  by  an  agent.  Thus  the  right  of  settling  a  colony 
is  a  right  of  occupation  by  an  agent.  The  colonists  represent 
the  nation  which  has  sent  them  forth,  and  occupy  their  new 
country  in  the  name  of  the  mother  country.  But  the  colonists 
must  be  sent  forth  by  the  imblic  authority  of  the  nation,  other- 
wise they  will  possess  no  national  character,  but  will  be  con- 
sidered to  be  a  body  of  emigrants,  who  have  abandoned  their 
country. 

Thus,  Kluber,  in  his  "  Droit  des  Gens  Modernes  de 
I'Europe  :" — "  Un  etat  pent  acquerir  des  choses  qui  n'appar- 
tiennent  a  personne  {res  nullius)  par  I'occupation  (originaire  ;) 
les  biens  d'autrui  au  moyeu  de  conventions  (occupation 
derivative.)  ....  Pour  que  Voccupation  soit  legitime,  la 
chose  doit  etre  susceptible  d'une  propriete  exclusive  ;  elle  ne 
doit  appartenir  a  personne  ;  Vetat  doit  avoir  V intention  d'en 
acqutrir  la  propriete,  et  en  prendre  possession  (the  State  ought 
to  have  an  intention  to  acquire  the  right  of  property  in  it,  and 
to  take  possession  of  it ;)  c'est  a  dire,  la  mettre  entierement 
a  sa  disposition  et  dans  son  pouvoir  physique." 

Occupation,  then,  in  this  sense  of  the  word,  denotes  the 
taking  possession  of  a  territory  previously  vacant,  which  has 
either  always  been  unoccupied,  or,  if  ever  occupied,  has  been 
since  abandoned.  It  constitutes  a  perfect  title,  and  its  foun- 
dation may  be  referred  to  an  axiom  of  natural  law  :  "  Quod 
enim  ante  nullius  est,  id  ratione  naturali  occupanti  conceditur." 


dt*- 


AN    ACT    OF   THE    STATE. 


113 


(Dig.  1.  3,  D.  de  Acq.  Rer.  Dom.)  This  principle,  engrafted 
into  the  Roman  law,  was  as  tuUy  recognised  hy  IJracton  and 
by  Fleta : — "Jure  aiitem  gentium  sivc  naturali  dominia 
rerum  acquiruntur  multis  modis.  Imprimis,  per  occupationcm 
eorum,  quu)  non  sunt  in  bonis  alicujus,  et  qutc  nunc  sunt 
ipsius  regis  de  jure  civili,  et  non  communia  ut  olim,  (IJractou 
de  Leg.,  1.  ii.,c.  1.) 

Amongst  professed  writers  upon  international  law,  Wolff, 
who  is  justly  considered  as  the  founder  of  the  science,  and 
who,  in  his  voluminous  writings,  furnished  the  stores  out  of 
which  Vattel  compiled  his  "  Law  of  Nations,"  has  set  forth 
so  clearly  this  principle,  as  that  upon  which  title  by  occupa- 
tion  is  based,  that  his  words  may  bo  quoted  from  Luzac's 
French  translation  of  his  "Institutions  du  Droit  de  la  Nature 
et  dcs  Gens  :" — 

"  On  appelle  occupation^  un  fait  par  lequel  quelqu'un  declare 
qu'une  chose  qui  n'est  h  personne  doit  ctre  u  lui,  et  la  n'duit 
en  tel  I'tat  qu'elle  peut  etre  sa  chose.  II  parait  de  la,  que  la 
droit  d'occuper  une  chose,  ou  de  s'en  emparer,  appartient  na- 
turellement  d  chacun  indiffl'remment,  ou  bien  que  c'est  un  droit 
commun  de  tous  les  hommes,  et  commc  on  appelle  maniere 
primitive  d'acquerir,  celle  par  laquelle  on  acquiert  le  domainc 
d'une  chose  qui  n'est  a  personne,  il  s'ensuit  que  V occupation 
est  la  maniere  primitive  d\icquerir."  (Part  ii.,  ch.  ii.,  §  ccx.) 

As.  however,  the  term  occupation  has  come  to  signify  in 
common  parlance  rather  a  temporary  holding  than  a  perma- 
nent possession, — e.  g.,  the  occupation  of  Ancona  by  the 
French,  the  occupation  of  Lisbon  by  the  English,  the  occupa- 
tion  of  the  Four  Legations  by  the  Austrians,  there  is  an  incon- 
venience in  its  ambiguity,  and  from  this  circumstance  it  has 
resulted,  that  occupancy  is  Irequently  employed  to  designate 
what  is,  properly  speaking,  occupation.  This  however  is  to 
be  regretted,  as  the  word  occupancy  is  required  in  its  own 
eense  to  mark  the  right  to  take  possession,  as  distinct  from 
the  right  to  keep  possession, — the  jus  possidendi  from  the  Jm« 
posscssionis^ — the  jus  ad  rem,  as  civilians  would  say,  from 
i\\e  jus  in  re.  Thus  the  right  of  a  nation  to  colonise  a  given 
territory  to  the  exclusion  of  other  nations  is  a  right  of  occu. 
pancy  ;  the  right  of  the  colonists  to  exclude  foreigners  from 
their  settlements  would  be  a  right  o^ occupation. 

Mr.  Wheaton,  in  his  Elements  of  Ii.ternational  Law,  (1.  i., 
chap,  iv.,  p.  205,)  says,  "  The  exclusive  right  of  every  inde. 
pendent  state  to  its  territory  and  other  property  is  founded 


I 


r 

i 


'.'-I 


51 


*■     ii 

■    : ' 

& 


1 1 

\   1 

ni  .  •■ 

W^) 

1''^ 

llB!!i 

n '.' 

n 

mf- 

l(3i 

['4 

•  '■■> 

Ki 

|'|- 

Jl 

114 


ACTS    ACCESSORIAL   TO    OCCUPATION. 


Iff  ■ 


Si' 


'1';l! 


upon  the  title  originally  acquired  by  ocrupannjj  and  subse- 
quently confirmed  by  the  presumption  arising  from  the  lapse 
of  time,  or  by  treaties  and  other  compacts  of  foreign  states." 

It  may  be  gathered  from  these  writers,  that  to  constitute  a 
valid  territorial  title  by  occupation,  the  territory  must  be  pre- 
viously  vacant  {res  milliiis,)  and  the  slate  must  intend  to  take 
and  maintain  possession  :  and  that  the  vacancy  of  the  territory 
may  be  presumed  from  the  absence  of  inhabitants,  and  will 
be  placed  beyond  question  by  the  acquiescence  of  other  na- 
tions.  If  those  conditions  are  fulfilled,  the  proprietary  title 
which  results  is  a  perfect  title  against  all  other  nations. 

There  are  however  several  acts,  that  are  accessorial  to 
occupation,  which  do  not  separately  constitute  a  perfect  title. 
Such  acts  are  Discovery,  Settlement,  Demarcation.  Thus, 
discovery,  may  not  be  accompanied  with  any  intention  to 
occupy,  or  may  not  be  followed  up  by  any  act  of  occupation 
within  a  reasonable  time  ;  settlement  may  be  effected  in  terri- 
tory not  vacant ;  boundaries  may  be  marked  out  which  en- 
croach upon  the  territory  of  others  ;  so  that  acts  of  this  kind 
will,  separately,  only  found  an  imperfect  or  conditional  title  : 
their  combination,  however,  under  given  circumstances,  may 
establish  an  absolute  and  perfect  title. 


116 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


ON  TITLE  BY  DISCOVERY. 


I ".  I 


Discovery  not  recognised  by  the  Roman  law. — Wolff. — The  Discovery 
must  be  notified.— illustration  of  the  Principle  in  reference  to  Nootka 
Sound- — Vatlcl. — Discovery  must  he  by  virtue  of  a  Commission  from 
the  Sovereign  — Must  not  be  a  transient  Act  — Martens'  Prdcis  du  Droit 
des  Gens — Kluber. —  Bynkcrnhock. — Mr  Wheaton. — Practice  of  Na- 
tions — Queen  Elizabeth. — Ncgutiatiuns  between  Great  Britain  and  ths 
United  States,  m  IH^i.- — Xontka  Sound  Controversy ^^ — Discussions  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Rusf)ia,  in  1822. — Dcclarntion  of  British 
Commissioners,  in  1826. — Mr.  Gallatin's  View. — Conditions  attached 
to  Discovery. — No  second  Discovery. — Wolff. — Lord  Stowell. — Fr^ 
grcssive  Discovery. — Dormant  Discoveries  inoperative  for  Title. 

Amoxg  the  acts  which  are  accessorial  to  occupation,  the 
chief  is  Discovery.  The  title,  however,  which  results  from 
discovery,  is  only  an  imperfect  title.  It  is  not  recognised  in 
the  Roman  law,  nor  has  it  a  place  in  the  systems  of  Grotius 
or  Puffendorff.  The  principle,  however,  upon  which  it  is 
based  is  noticed  by  Wolff': — 

"  Pareillement,  si  quelqu'un  renferme  un  fonds  de  terra  dans 
des  limites,  ou  la  destine  u  quelque  usage  par  un  acte  non 
passager,  ou  qui,  se  tenant  sur  ce  fonds  limite,  il  dise  en  pre- 
sence d'autres  hommes,  qu'il  veut  que  ce  fonds  soit  a  lui,  il 
s'empare."  (Institutes  du  Droit  des  Gens,  §  213.) 

To  this  passage  M.  Luzac  has  appended  the  following  note, 
pointing  out  the  application  of  the  principle  to  international 
relations  : — 

"  Nous  ne  trouvons  pas  cette  occupation  dans  le  droit  Re- 
main. C'est  sur  elle  que  sent  fondes  les  droits  que  les 
puissances  s'attribuent,  en  vertu  des  decouvertes." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  text  of  M.  Wolff,  that  the  intention 
to  take  possession  at  the  time  of  discovery  must  be  declared. 
The  comity  of  nations,  then,  presumes  that  the  execution  will 
follow  the  intention.  But  the  reason  of  the  thing  requires  that 
the  discovery  should  be  notified  at  the  time  when  it  takes 
place,  otherwise,  where  actual  possession  has  not  ensued,  the 
presumption  will  be  altogether  against  a  discovery,  or  if  there 


\\\ 


..  ! 


■■>l 


•I 


I 


I 

i 

(■       ^ 

1- 

jl!|v# 

.  I 


no 


JVOOTKA   SOUND. 


had  been  a  discovery,  that  it  was  a  mere  passing  act,  that  the 
territory  was  never  taken  possession  of,  or  if  so,  was  aban* 
doned  immediately.  Unless  then  the  intention  to  appropriate 
can  bo  presumed  from  the  announcement  of  the  discovery, 
which  the  comity  of  nations  will  res|)ect, — if  the  tirst  comer 
has  not  taken  actual  possession,  but  has  passed  on,  the  pre< 
sumption  will  bo  that  he  never  intended  to  appropriate  tho 
territory.  Thus  a  discovery,  when  it  has  been  concealed 
from  other  nations,  has  never  been  recognised  as  a  good 
title  :  it  is  an  inoperative  act. 

A  case  in  point  may  be  cited  to  illustrate  the  application  of 
this  principle.     Mr.  (jreenhow  (p.  116)  observes,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  voyage  of  Perez  in  1775, — "The  Government  of 
Spain  perhaps  acted  wisely  in  concealing  the  accounts  of  this 
expedition,  which  reflected  little  honour  on  the  courage  or  the 
science  of  the  navigators  :  but  it  has  thereby  deprived  itself 
of  the  means  of  establishing  beyond  question  the  claim  of 
Perez  to  the  discovery  of  the  important  harbour  called  Nootka 
Sound,  which  is  now,  by  general  consent,  assigned  to  Captain 
Cook." 

Vattel  (b.  i.,  1.  xviii.,  §  207)  discusses  this  title  at  large  : — 

"  All  mankind  have  an  equal  right  to  things  that  have  not 
yet  fallen  into  the  possession  of  any  one,  and  those  things  be- 
long to  the  person  who  first  takes  possession  of  them.  When 
therefore  a  nation  finds  a  country  uninhabited,  and  without  an 
owner,  it  may  lawfully  take  possession  of  it,  and  after  it  has 
sufficiently  made  known  its  will  in  this  respect^  it  cannot  be 
deprived  of  it  by  another  nation.  Thus  navigators  going  on 
voyages  of  discovery,  furnished  ivith  a  commission  from  their 
sovereign,  and  meeting  with  islands  or  other  lands  in  a  desert 
state,  have  taken  possession  of  them  in  the  name  of  the  na- 
tion ;  and  this  title  has  been  usually  respected,  provided  it 
was  soon  after  followed  by  a  real  possession." 

According  to  this  statement,  the  act  of  discovery  must  be 
sanctioned  by  a  commission  from  the  sovereign,  and  the  will 
of  the  nation  to  take  possession  must  be  by  its  agent  suflli- 
ciently  made  known.  What  acts  should  be  respected  by  the 
courtesy  of  nations,  and  be  held  sufficient  to  make  known  for- 
mally the  will  of  a  nation  to  avail  itself  of  a  discovery,  has 
been  a  subject  of  much  dispute.  The  tendency,  however, 
both  of  writers  and  statesmen,  has  been  to  limit  rather  than 
to  extend  the  title  by  discovery,  ever  since  the  Papal  Bulls  of 


1 

J_ 

,  : 

■  .  ,■ 

1' 

ft  •  ■  1 

-  '^* 

S  •  X  ■    * 

yi^iv, 

1^^^ 

TT?\XSIENT   ViaiTS. 


117 


t,  that  the 
as  aban. 
propriate 
liscoveiy, 
st  comer 
the  pre. 
»riate  tho 
concealed 
s  a  good 

ication  of 
in  refer- 
nmeni  of 
Its  of  this 
?e  or  the 
^ed  itself 
claim  of 
J  Nootka 
Captain 

arge  :— 
bave  not 
lings  be. 
When 
thout  an 
?r  it  has 
nnot  be 
oing  on 
>m  their 
a  desert 
the  na- 
vided  it 

DUst  be 
he  will 
>t  suffi. 
by  the 
wn  for. 
ry,  has 
•wever, 
r  than 
iulls  of 


the  16tli  century  enlarged  it  to  an  inconvenient  extent,  to  the 
exclusive  benelit  of  two  liivourod  nrtlions. 

Thus  Vattcl  : — "The  law  of  nations  will,  therefore,  not 
ncknowlrd^e  tho  pnij  rty  and  sovorni<»nty  of  a  nation  over 
any  uninhabited  countries  except  those  of  which  it  has  really 
takenactual  possession, in  which  it  has  fornicd  settlements,  or  of 
which  it  makes  actual  use.  In  etl'ect,  when  navigators  have 
met  with  desert  countries  in  which  those  of  other  nations  had, 
in  their  transient  visits,  erected  some  monuments  to  show 
their  having  taken  possession  of  them,  they  have  paid  as  little 
regard  to  that  enj|)ty  ceremony  as  to  the  regulation  of  tho 
Po|)es,  who  divided  a  great  part  of  the  world  between  the 
crowns  of  Castile  and  Portugal." 

To  the  same  purport.  Martens,  in  his  Precis  du  Droit  dcs 
Gens,  ^  37  :  — 

Suppose  (pie  I'occupation  soit  possible,  il  faut  encore  qu'cllo 
ait  eu  lieu  ettectivement, — (pic  le  fait  de  la  prise  de  possession 
ail  concouru  avcc  la  volenti'  manifesto  (le  s'en  ai)pro|)rier 
Tobjet.  La  simple  (k'claration  de  volonte  d'une  nation  ne 
suUit  pas  non  plus  qu'unc  donation  papalc,  ou  unc  convention 
entre  deux  nations  pour  imposcr  ii  d'autrcs  lo  devoir  do 
s'abstenir  do  I'usagc  ou  de  I'occupation  do  I'objct  en  question. 
liC  simple  fait  d'avoir  Ca.6  le  premier  a  decouvrir  ou  a  visiter 
unc  ile,  &C.,  abandonnee  ensuite,  semble  insuflisant,  memo  do 
I'aveu  dcs  nations,  tant  qu'on  n'a  point  laisst'  de  traces 
permancntcs  de  possession  et  de  volonte,  et  ce  n'est  pas  sans 
raison  qu'on  a  souvent  dispute  entre  Ics  nations,  commc  entre 
Ics  philosoj)hcs,  si  des  croix,  des  poteaux,  dcs  inscriptions,  tS>cc., 
suflisent  pour  acquerir  ou  pour  conserver  la  proprietc  exclusive 
d'un  pays  qu'on  ne  cultive  pas." 

Klubcr,  to  the  same  effect,  writes  thus:  (§>  126) — "Pour 
acquerir  une  chose  par  le  nioycn  de  I'occupation,  il  ne  sufiit 
point  d'en  avoir  sculemcnt  I'intention,  ou  do  s'attribuer  unc 
possession  purement  mcntalc  ;  la  declaration  mt'ine  do  vouloir 
occupcr,  faito  anterieurement  a  I'occupation  efl'ectuee  par  un 
autre,  ne  suffirait  pas.  II  faut  qu'on  ait  n'ellement  occupc  le 
premier,  et  c'est  par  cela  seul  qu'en  acquerant  un  droit  ex- 
clusif  sur  la  chose,  on  impose  a  tout  tiers  I'obligation  de  s'en 
abstenir.  L'occu|)ation  d'une  partio  inhabitee  et  sans  maitre 
du  globe  de  la  terrc,  ne  peut  done  s'etendre  plus  loin  qu'on 
ne  peut  tenir  pour  constant  qu'il  y  ait  cu  rffeclivemcnt  prise 
de  possession^  dans  I  intention  de  s^altrihiier  la  propriete. 
Comme  preuves  d'une  pareille  prise  de  possession,  ainsi  que 

C* 


U 


!  ■ 

»•    ■ 

V 


;?• 


,-N 


■    i 

r 


3 


•\n\ 


ii 


:1' 


118 


THEORY    OF   JURISTS. 


ut! 


de  la  continuation  do  la  possession  en  propriete,  peuvent 
servir  tous  Ics  signcs  exterieurs  qui  marquent  I'occupation  et 
la  possession  continue." 

On  this  passage  there  is  the  following  note  :— "  Le  droit 
do  propriute  d'etat  pcut,  d'apres  le  droit  dcs  gens,  continuer 
d'exister,  sans  que  I'etat  continue  la  possession  corporelle. 
II  sutfit  qu'il  existe  un  signe  qui  dit,  que  la  chose  n'est  ni  res 
indUus,  ni  drlaissc'c.  En  pareil  cas  personne  ne  saurait 
s'approprier  la  chose,  sans  ravir  de  fait,  a  celui  qui  I'a  possc'dce 
jusqu'alors  en  propriety,  ce  qu'il  y  a  opc're  de  son  influence 
d'unc  manicre  legitime  :  enlcver  ceci  ce  serait  blesser  le  droit 
du  proprietaire." 

It  would  be  ditlicult  to  determine  theoretically  what  would 
constitute  a  sufficient  sign  that  the  territory  is  not  vacant, 
or  abandoned.  Bynkershock,  who  was  opposed  to  the  con- 
tinuance  of  proprietary  right  from  discovery,  unless  corporeal 
possession  was  maintained,  subsequently  qualified  his  view. 
"  rra3ter  animum  possessionem  desidero,  sed  qualemcunque, 
quae  probet,  me  nee  corporo  dcsiissc  possidere."  (De  Dominio 
Maris,  ch.  i.,DeOrigine  Dominii.) 

Mr.  Whcaton,  in  his  work  on  International  Law,  (vol.  i.,ch. 
iv.,  §5,)  writes  thus: — "The  claim  of  European  nations  to 
the  possessions  held  by  thorn  in  the  New  World  discovered  by 
Columbus  and  other  adventurers,  and  to  the  territories  which 
they  have  acquired  on  the  continents  and  islands  of  Africa 
and  Asia,  was  originally  derived  from  discovery  or  conquest 
and  colonisation,  and  has  since  been  confirmed  in  the  same 
manner  by  positive  compact." 

The  practice  of  nations  seems  fully  to  bear  out  the  theory 
of  jurists,  as  it  may  be  gathered  from  the  language  of 
sovereigns  and  statesmen.  Thus,  in  reference  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  on  occasion  of  the  earliest  dispute  be- 
tween the  crowns  of  Spain  and  England,  Queen  Elizabeth 
refused  to  achnit  the  excUisive  pretensions  of  the  Spaniards. 
When  Mcndoza,  the  Spanish  ambassador,  remonstrated  against 
the  expedition  of  Drake,  she  replied,  "  that  she  did  not  under- 
stand why  cither  her  subjects,  or  those  of  any  other  European 
prince,  should  be  debarred  from  tratiic  in  the  Indies  :  that,  as 
she  did  not  acknowledge  the  Spaniards  to  have  any  title  by 
donation  of  the  Bisliop  of  Rome,  so  she  knew  no  right  they 
had  to  any  places  other  than  those  they  were  in  actual  pos- 
session of ;  for  that  their  having  touched  only  here  and  there 
upon  a  coast,  and  given  names  to  a  few  rivers  or  capes,  were 


1- 


peuvent 
upation  et 

"  Le  droit 

continuer 

corporelle, 

'est  ni  res 

le   saiirait 

1  possc'doe 

influence 

er  le  droit 

hat  would 
t  vacant, 
I  the  con- 
corporeal 
his  view, 
mcunque, 
Dominio 

vol.  i.,ch. 
ations  to 
levered  by 
ios  which 
>f  Africa 
conquest 
the  same 


»e  theory 
uage    of 
e  north- 
ipute  be- 
ilizabeth 
•aniards. 
I  against 
t  under- 
luopcan 
that,  as 
title  by 
ht  they 
Jal  pos- 
d  there 
9,  were 


I'UAt.TK'K    or    XATIOXS. 


119 


such  insignificant  things  as  could  in  no  ways  entitle  them  to 
a  propriety  further  than  in  the  parts  where  they  actually 
settled,  and  continued  to  inhabit."  (Camden's  Annals,  anno 
1580.) 

Such  was  the  language  of  the  Crown  of  England  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  in  no  respect  is  the  language  of  Great 
Britain  altered  in  the  present  day.  Thus,  in  reference  to  the 
negotiations  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in 
1824,  Mr.  Rush,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  of  August  12,  1824, 
writes  thus  : — '*  As  to  the  alleged  prior  discoveries  of  Spain 
all  along  that  coast,  Britain  did  not  admit  them,  but  with 
great  qualification.  She  could  never  admit  that  the  mere  fact 
of  Spanish  navigators  having  first  seen  the  coast  at  particular 
points,  even  where  this  was  capable  of  being  substantiated  as 
the  fact,  without  any  subsequent  or  efiicient  acts  of  sovereignty 
or  settlement  following  on  the  part  of  Spain,  was  sufficient  to 
exclude  all  other  nations  from  that  portion  of  the  globe." 
(State  Papers,  1825.26,  p.  812.) 

But  the  Spanish  crown  itself,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Nootka  Sound  controversy,  felt  that  a  claim  to  exclusive 
territorial  title  could  not  be  reasonably  maintained  on  the  plea 
of  mere  discovery.  Thus,  in  the  Declaration  of  his  Catholic 
Majesty,  on  June  4,  1790,  which  was  transmitted  to  all  the 
European  Courts,  and  consequently  bound  the  Crown  of 
Spain  in  the  face  of  all  nations,  the  following  precise  language 
was  employed  : — 

"  Nevertheless,  the  King  docs  deny  what  the  enemies  to 
peace  have  industriously  circulated,  that  Spain  extends  pre- 
tensions and  rights  of  sovereignty  over  the  whole  of  the  South 
Sea,  as  far  as  China.  When  the  words  are  made  use  of,  *  In 
the  name  of  the  King,  his  sovereignty,  navigation,  and  ex- 
clusive commerce  to  the  continent  and  islands  of  the  South 
Sea,'  it  is  the  manner  in  vi-hich  Spain,  in  speaking  of  the 
Indies,  has  always  used  these  words, — that  is  to  Scay,  to  the 
continent,  islands,  and  seas  which  belong  to  his  Majesty,  so 
far  as  discoveries  have  been  made  and  secured  to  him  by  treaties 
and  immemorial  possession,  and  uniformly  acquiesced  in,  not- 
withstanding some  infringements  by  individuals,  who  have 
been  punished  upon  knowledge  of  their  offences.  And  the 
King  sets  up  no  pretensions  to  any  possessions,  the  right  to 
which  he  cannot  prove  by  irrefragable  titles." 

The  pretensions  of  Spain  to  absolute  sovereignty,  com- 


^1 
f 

t 

! 


'       i 


I 

.   5- 


'. 


r  I 

11 


.1^ 


if^'^^ 


120 


BRITISH   DOCTRINE. 


i^J 


i.i 


il 


merce,  and  navigation,  had  already  been  rejected  by  the 
British  Government,  and  they  had  insisted  that  EngHsh  sub- 
jects,  trading  under  the  British  flag,  "  have  an  indisputable 
right  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  and  uninterrupted  navigation, 
commerce,  and  fishery ;  and  to  the  possession  of  such  esta- 
blishments as  they  should  form,  with  the  consent  of  the  natives 
of  the  country,  not  previously  occupied  by  any  of  the  European 
nations. 

Again,  the  Crown  of  Spain,  in  demanding  assistance  from 
France,  according  to  the  engagements  of  the  Family  Com- 
pact, rested  her  supposed  title  upon  "  treaties,  demarcations, 
takings  of  possession,  and  the  most  decided  acts  of  sovereignty 
exercised  by  the  Spaniards  from  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  and 
authorised  by  that  monarch  in  1692." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Spain,  in  setting  up  a  title  by  dis- 
covery, supported  her  claims  by  alleging  that  the  act  was  au- 
thorised by  the  Crown,  was  attended  with  "  takings  of  pos- 
session," and  was  confirmed  by  treaties,  e.  g.,  that  of  Utrecht. 

To  a  similar  purport,  in  the  discussions  which  took  place 
between  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America,  in  respect 
to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  which  ultimately  resulted 
in  the  convention  signed  at  St.  Petersburgh,  -,^y  April,  1824, 
the  Chevalier  de  Poletica,  the  Russian  minister  at  Washington, 
in  his  letter  of  28th  February,  1822,  to  the  American  Secre- 
tary of  State,  grounded  the  claims  of  Russia  upon  these  three 
bases,  as  required  by  the  general  law  of  nations  and  imme- 
morial usage  among  nations  : — "  The  title  of  first  discovery  ; 
the  title  of  first  occupation  ;  and,  in  the  last  place,  that  which 
results  from  a  peaceable  and  uncontested  possession  of  more 
than  half  a  century."  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers, 
1821-22,  p.  485.) 

To  a  similar  purport  the  British  Commissioners,  Messrs. 
Huskisson  and  Addington,  in  the  sixth  conference  held  at 
London,  December  16,  1826,  maintained  tliis  doctrine  : — 
"  Upon  the  question  how  far  prior  discovery  constitutes  a 
legal  claim  to  sovereignty,  the  law  of  nations  is  somewhat 
vague  and  undefined.  It  is,  however,  admitted  by  the  most 
approved  writers,  that  mere  accidental  discovery,  unattended 
by  exploration — by  formally  taking  possession  in  the  name 
of  the  discoverer's  sovereign — by  occupation  and  settlement, 
more  or  less  permanent — by  purchase  of  the  territory,  or  re- 
ceiving the  sovereignty   from  the  natives — constitutes   the 


i;v 


/v^-. 


CONDITIONS   ATTACHED   TO   DISCOVERT. 


121 


by  the 
glish  sub. 
iisputable 
ivigation, 
uch  esta- 
te natives 
European 

LUce  from 
ly  Com- 
[ircations, 
vereignty 
3 II.,  and 

e  by  dis- 

:  was  au- 
[s  of  pos- 

Utrecht. 
)ok  place 
n  respect 
''  resulted 
ril,  lb24, 
shington, 
in  Secre- 
ese  three 
d  imme> 
scovery  ; 
at  which 

of  more 
I  Papers, 

,  Messrs. 
!  held  at 
trine  : — 
ititutes  a 
omewhat 
the  most 
attended 
le  name 
ttlement, 
7,  or  ro- 
utes  the 


lowest  degree  of  title  ;  and  that  it  is  only  in  proportion  as  first 
discovery  is  followed  by  any  or  all  of  these  acts,  that  such 
title  is  strengthened  and  confirmed." 

In  accordance  with  the  same  view,  the  plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  States,  Mr.  Gallatin,  in  his  counter-statement, 
which  Mr.  Greenhow  has  appended  to  the  second  edition  of 
his  work,  asserts  that  "  Prior  discovery  gives  a  right  to  occu- 
py, provided  that  occupancy  take  place  within  a  reasonable 
time,  and  is  followed  by  permanent  settlements  and  by  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil." 

It  thus  seems  to  be  universally  acknowledged,  that  dis- 
covery, though  it  gives  a  right  of  occupancy,  does  not  found 
the  same  perfect  and  exclusive  title  which  grows  out  of  occu- 
pation ;  and  that  unless  discovery  be  followed  within  a 
reasonable  time  by  some  sort  of  settlement,  it  will  be  presumed 
either  to  have  been  originally  inoperative,  or  to  have  been 
subsequently  abandoned. 

It  seems  likewise  to  be  fully  recognised  by  the  law  of 
nations,  as  based  upon  principles  of  natural  law,  and  as 
gathered  from  the  language  of  negotiations  and  conventions, 
that  in  order  that  discovery  should  constitute  an  inchoate 
title  to  territory,  it  must  have  been  authorised  by  the 
sovereign  power,  must  have  been  accompanied  by  some  act 
of  taking  possession  significative  of  the  intention  to  occupy, 
and  must  have  been  made  known  to  other  nations. 

'•  Thus  Lord  Stoweli  (in  the  Kama,  3  Rob.  p.  115)  lays  it 
down,  that  "  even  in  newly  discovered  countries,  tchcre  a  title 
is  meant  to  be  established  for  the  first  time,  some  act  of  pos- 
session is  usually  done  and  proclaimed  as  a  notijication  of  the 
fact. 

There  can  be  no  second  discovery  of  a  country.  In  this 
respect  title  by  discovery  differs  from  title  by  settlement.  A 
title  by  a  later  settlement  may  be  set  up  against  a  title  by  an 
earlier  settlement,  even  where  this  has  been  formed  by  the 
first  occupant,  if  the  earlier  settlement  can  be  shown  to  have 
been  abandoned. 

M.  Wolff" explains  the  reason  of  this  very  clearly  (§cciii.:) — 
On  dit  qu'une  chose  est  abandonnue,  si  simplement  son  maitre 
ne  veut  pas  qu'elle  soit  plus  long  temps  sienne,  c'est  a  dire, 
que  I'acte  de  sa  volonto  ne  contienne  ricn  de  plus  que  ceci, 
que  la  chose  ne  doit  plus  ctre  u  lui.  D'oii  il  paroit,  quo  celui 
qui  abandonne  une  chose  cesse  d'en  etre  le  maitre,  et  que  par 
consequent  une  chose  abandonncc  dcvient  unc  chose  qui  n'cst 


1* 


»ii 


'  ] 


:>1 


122 


PROGRESSIVE    DISCOVERV. 


a  personne  ;  mais  qu'aussi  long  temps  que  le  maltre  n'a  pas 
I'intention  d'abandonner  sa  chose,  il  en  rcste  le  maitre." 

The  same  writer  observes  elsewhere  ( §  mcxxxix.) — 
*'  L'abandon  requis  pour  I'usucaption,  et  pour  la  prescription 
qui  en  est  la  suite,  ne  se  presume  pas  aussi  aisement  contre 
les  nations  qu'entre  les  particuliers,  a  cause  d'un  long  silence." 

A  title  by  second  discovery  cannot,  from  the  nature  of  the 
thing,  be  set  up  against  a  title  by  first  discovery.  The  term 
second  discover]/  itself  involves  a  contradiction,  and  where 
the  discovery  has  been  progressive,  "  further  discovery"  would 
seem  to  be  the  more  correct  phrase.  A  case  can  certainly  be 
imagined,  where  a  later  discovery  may  be  entitled  to  greater 
consideration  than  a  prior  discovery,  namely,  where  the  prior 
discovery  has  been  kept  secret ;  but  in  such  a  case  the  prior 
discovery  is  not  a  discovery  w  hich  the  law  of  nations  re- 
cognises, for  it  has  not  been  made  known,  at  the  time  when 
it  took  place,  to  other  nations  ;  and  the  inconvenience  which 
would  attend  the  setting  up  of  claims  of  discovery  long  subse- 
quently to  the  event  upon  which  they  arc  professed  to  be  based, 
would  be  so  great,  that  the  comity  of  nations  does  not  admit 
it.  The  comity  of  nations,  indeed,  in  sanctioning  title  by  dis- 
covery at  all,  as  distinct  from  title  by  occupation,  has  sought 
to  strengthen  rather  than  to  impugn  the  proprietary  right  of 
nations ;  but  no  territorial  title  would  be  safe  frum  question,  if 
the  dormant  ashes  of  alleged  discoveries  might  at  any  time  bo 
raked  up. 


';! 


i'  ' 


!  Sd': 


hf  '■'■' 


ul: 


123 


'■5 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TITLE  BY  SETTLEMENT. 

Title  by  Settlement  an  imperfect  Title. — Presumption  of  Law  in  its  Fa- 
vour.—  Made  perfect  by  undisturbed  Possession. — Wlieaton. — Title  by 
Usucaplion  or  Prescription. — Vattel. — Acquiescence  a  Bar  to  conflict- 
ingf  Title  of  Discovery, — Hudson's  Hay  Settlements. — Treaty  of  Utrecbt. 
— Tlie  V^icinitas  of  the  Roman  Law. — Mid-channel  of  Rivers. — Conti. 
guify,  as  between  conterminous  States,  a  reciprocal  Title. — Negotia- 
tions between  Spain  and  the  United  States  of  America. — Vattel — I'cr- 
ritorial  Limits  extended  by  the  Necessity  of  the  Case  --Right  of  Mari- 
time Jurisdiction,  bow  far  acces.sorial  to  Right  of  Territory. — Right  of 
Pre-emption. — New  Zealand.— North  American  Indians. — Right  of 
innocent  Use. 

Title  by  settlement,  like  title  by  discovery,  is  of  itself  an  im- 
pnrfcct  title,  and  its  validity  will  be  conditional  upon  the  ter- 
ritory being  vacant  at  the  time  of  the  settlement,  either  as 
never  having  been  occupied,  or  as  having  been  abandoned  by 
the  previous  occupant.  In  the  former  case,  it  resolves  itself 
into  title  by  occupation  ;  in  the  latter,  the  consent  of  the  pre- 
vious occupant  is  either  expressed  by  some  convention,  or  pre- 
sumed from  the  possession  remaining  undisputed.  Title  by 
sottlcment,  however,  differs  from  title  by  discovery,  or  title  by 
occupation,  in  this  respect, — that  no  second  discovery,  no  sc- 
cond  occupation  can  take  place,  but  a  series  of  settlements 
may  have  been  successively  made  and  in  their  turn  abandon- 
ed, so  that  the  last  settlement,  when  conlirmed  by  a  certain 
prescription,  may  found  a  good  territorial  title.  Again,  the 
presumption  of  law  will  always  be  in  favour  of  a  title  by  set- 
tlement. *'  Commodum  possidentis  in  eo  est,  quod  etiamsi 
ejus  res  non  sit,  qui  po.s.sidet,  si  modo  actor  non  potuerit  suam 
esse  probare,  rcmanet  in  suo  loco  possessio  ;  propter  quam 
causam,  cum  obscura  sint  utriusque  jura  contra  petitorem  judi- 
cari  solct."     (Inst.,  1.  iv.,  tit.  15,  §  4.) 

Where  title  by  settlement  is  superadded  to  title  by  disco- 
very, the  law  of  nations  will  acknowledge  the  settlers  to  have 
a  perfect  title  ;  but  where  title  by  settlement  is  opposed  to 
title  by  discovery,  although  no  convention  can  be  cited  in 


I"-' 


..  r 


.>l: 


m 


u 


■■:! 


Ii 


<       , 

f    ; 

f 

:i 

'  1 

,  r 

,  i 
i    i 

!•' 


! 


1        -       ! 

} 

i 

i 

i 

i 
I 

1 

121 


UNDISTURBED    POSSESSION. 


proof  of  the  discovery  having  been  waived,  still,  a  tacit  acqui- 
escence on  the  part  of  the  nation  that  asserts  the  discovery, 
during  a  reasonable  lapse  of  time  since  the  settlement  has 
taken  place,  will  bar  its  claim  to  disturb  the  settlement.  Thus, 
Mr.  Wheaton  (part  ii.,  chap,  iv.,  §  6)  writes  : — "  The  con- 
stant  and  approved  practice  of  nations  shows,  that  by  what- 
ever name  it  be  called,  the  uninterrupted  possession  of  terri- 
tory or  other  property,  for  a  certain  length  of  time,  by  one 
state,  excludes  the  claim  of  every  other,  in  the  same  manner 
as  by  the  law  of  nations,  and  the  municipal  code  of  every 
civilized  nation,  a  similar  possession  by  an  individual  excludes 
the  claim  of  every  other  person  to  the  article  of  property  in 
question.  This  rule  is  founded  upon  the  supposition,  confirm- 
ed by  constant  experience,  that  every  person  will  naturally 
seek  to  enjoy  that  which  belongs  to  him ;  and  the  inference 
fairly  to  be  drawn  from  his  silence  and  neglect,  of  the  original 
defect  of  his  title,  or  his  intention  to  relinquish  it." 

Title,  then,  by  settlement,  though  originally  imperfect,  may 
be  thus  perfected  by  enjoyment  during  a  reasonable  lapse  of 
time,  the  presumption  of  law  from  undisturbed  possession 
being,  that  there  is  no  prior  owner,  because  there  is  no  claim- 
ant,— no  better  proprietary  right,  because  there  is  no  asserted 
right.  The  silence  of  other  parties  presumes  their  acquies- 
cence :  and  their  acquiescence  presumes  a  defect  of  title  on 
their  part,  or  an  abandonment  of  their  title.  A  title  once 
abandoned,  whether  tacitly  or  expressly,  cannot  be  resumed. 
"  Celui  qui  abandonne  une  chose  ccssc  d'en  etre  le  maltre, 
et  par  consequent  une  chose  abandonnoe  devient  une  chose 
qui  n'est  a  personne."     (Wolff,  cciii.) 

Title  by  settlement,  then,  as  distinguished  from  title  by  dis- 
covery, when  set  up  as  a  perfect  title,  must  resolve  itself  into 
title  by  usucaption  or  •prescription.  Wolff  defines  usucaption 
to  be  an  .acquisition  of  domain  founded  on  a  presumed  deser- 
tion. Vattel  says  it  is  the  acquisition  of  domain  founded  on 
long  possession,  uninterrupted  and  undisputed,  that  is  to  say, 
an  acquisition  solely  proved  by  this  possession.  Prescription, 
on  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  same  author,  is  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  pretensions  to  a  right — an  exclusion  four.lo'^  on  the 
length  of  time  during  which  that  right  has  been  ijoglected  ; 
or,  according  toWoHF's  definition,  it  is  the  loss  of  an  inherent 
right  by  virtue  of  a  presumed  consent.  Vattel,  writing  in 
French,  and  observing  that  the  word  usucaption  was  but  little 
used  in  that  language,  made  use  of  the  word  prescription  when- 


TITLK  BY    rRESCRIPTIOX. 


125 


t\ 


ever  there  were  no  particular  reasons  for  employing  the  other. 
The  same  remark  may  be  applied  in  reference  to  our  own  Ian. 
guaore,  and  thus  this  title  is  generally  spoken  of  as  title  by 
])rescription. 

What  lapse  of  time  is  requisite  to  found  a  valid  title  by 
prescription  has  not  been  definitely  settled.  The  law  of  na- 
ture suggests  no  rule.  Where,  however,  the  claimant  cannot 
allege  undoubted  ignorance  on  his  part,  or  on  the  part  of 
those  from  whom  he  derives  his  right,  or  cannot  justify  his 
silence  by  lawful  and  substantial  reasons,  or  has  neglected  his 
right  for  a  sufficient  number  of  years  as  to  allow  the  respec- 
tive rights  of  the  two  parties  to  become  doubtful,  the  prcsunip. 
tion  of  relinquishment  will  be  established  against  him,  and  he 
will  be  excluded  by  ordinary  prescription.  Lapse  of  time,  in 
the  case  equally  of  nations  as  of  individuals,  robs  the  parties 
of  the  means  of  proof:  so  that  if  a  hondjide  possession  were 
allowed  to  be  questioned  by  those  who  have  acquiesced  for  a 
long  time  in  its  enjoyment  by  the  possessors,  length  of  posses- 
sion,  instead  of  strengthening,  would  weaken  territorial  title. 
This  result  would  be  so  generally  inconvenient,  as  to  be  inad- 
missible. 

Thus,  in  regard  to  the  territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, it  was  alleged  in  the  negotiations  preliminary  to  the 
Treaty  of  Utrecht,  that  the  French  had  acquiesced  in  the  set- 
tlement of  the  Bay  of  Hudson  by  the  Company  incorporated 
by  Charles  H.  in  1663;  since  M.  Fontenac,  the  Governor  of 
Canada,  in  his  correspondence  with  Mr.  Baily,  who  was  Go- 
vernor of  the  Factories  in  1637,  never  complained,  "  for  seve- 
ral years,  of  any  pretended  injury  done  to  the  French  by  the 
said  Company's  settling  a  trade  and  building  of  forts  at  the 
bottom  of  the  bay."  (General  Collection  of  Treaties,  &c. 
London,  1710-33,  vol.  i.,  p.  446.)  The  King  of  England,  it 
is  true,  in  his  charter  had  set  forth  the  title  of  the  British 
Crown,  as  founded  on  discovery  :  the  title  by  discoverv,  how- 
ever, required  to  be  perfected  by  settlement ;  and  thus,  in  the 
negotiations,  the  subsidiary  title  by  settlement  was  likewise 
set  up  by  the  British  Commissioners,  and  the  acquiescence  of 
the  French  was  alleged,  either  as  a  bar  to  their  setting  up  any 
conflicting  title  by  discovery,  or  as  establishing  the  presump- 
tion of  their  having  abandoned  their  asserted  right  of  dis- 
covery. 

What  amount  of  contiguous  territory  attaches  to  a  settle- 
ment,  so  as  to  prevent  the  titles  of  two  nations  from  conflict. 


1? 


V- 

I;- 


'4 


a. 


mr-i'. 


J  ■ 


120 


MI1)-C1IA.N,NEL    ISLANDS. 


I'' 


• 


«:: 


■  u 


:!!•: 


li  i|; 


.1!   .\. 

^!!  ill 


ing  by  virtue  of  adjoining  settlements,  seems  to  be  governed 
by  no  fixed  rule,  but  must  depend  on  the  circumstances  of 
the  case.  Vattcl  observes  (I.  ii.,  §  95,)  "  If,  at  the  same 
time,  two  or  more  nations  discover  and  take  possession  of  an 
island,  or  ant/  other  dcserl  land  vilhoitt  an  owner,  they  ought 
to  agree  between  themselves,  and  make  an  equitable  partition  ; 
but,  if  they  cannot  agree,  each  will  have  the  right  of  empire 
and  the  domain  in  the  parts  in  which  they  first  settled."  The 
title  of  vkinilas  was  recognised  in  the  Roman  law,  in  the  case 
of  recent  alluvial  deposits,  as  entitling  the  possessor  of  the  ad- 
joining bank  to  a  claim  of  property  ;  but,  if  it  were  an  island 
formed  in  the  mid-channel,  there  was  a  common  title  to  it  in 
the  proprietors  of  the  two  banks.  "  Insula  nata  in  flumine, 
quod  frequenter  accidit,  si  quidem  mediam  partem  fiuminis  te- 
net, communis  est  corum,  qui  ah  utraque  parte  fluminis  prope 
ripam  praedia  possident,  pro  modo  latitudinis  cujusque  fundi, 
quae  latitudo  j)rope  ripam  sit  :  quod  si  alteri  parti  proximior 
est,  corum  est  tantum,  qui  ab  ea  parte  prope  ripam  praedia 
possident."  ([nst.  ii.,  tit.  i.,  §  22.)  So,  in  the  case  where  a 
river  abandons  its  former  channel,  the  ancient  bed  belongs  to 
those  "  qui  prope  ripam  pra3dia  possident ;"  and  in  the  Digest 
(xli.,  tit.  i.,  1.  7,)  we  have  a  case  supposed  where  a  river  has 
changed  its  course,  and  occupied  for  a  time  the  entire  property 
(totum  agrum)  of  an  individual,  and  then  deserted  its  new 
channel :  the  Roman  law  did  not  consider  that,  strictly  speak- 
ing, the  title  of  the  former  proprietor  revived,  inasmuch  as  he 
had  no  adjoining  land.  '♦  Cujus  tamen  totum  agrum  novus 
alvcus  occupaverit,  licet  ad  priorem  alveum  reversum  fuerit 
flumen  ;  non  tamen  is,  cujus  is  agcr  fuerat,  stricta  ratione 
quicquam  in  co  alveo  habere  potest :  quia  ct  ille  ager,  qui 
fuerat,  desiit  esse,  amissa,  propria  forma :  ct  quia  vicinum  praj- 
dium  nullum  habet,  non  potest  ratione  vicinitatis  \}\\dim.  partem 
in  eo  alveo  habere." 

Again,  in  the  case  of  a  river,  the  banks  of  which  are  pos- 
sessed by  contiguous  states,  the  presumption  of  law  is,  that 
the  Thalwegs  or  mid-channel,  is  the  mutual  boundary  ;  since 
rivers  are,  in  the  case  of  conterminous  states,  communis  juris, 
unless  acknowledged  by  them  to  be  otherwise,  or  prescribed 
for  by  one  of  the  parties.  *'  The  general  presumption,"  ob- 
serves Lord  Stowell,  (in  the  Twee  Gebroeders,  3  Rob.,  p.  339,) 
"  certainly  bears  strongly  against  such  exclusive  rights,  and 
the  title  is  matter  to  bo  established  on  the  part  of  those  claim- 


1.n.ii;;: 


'  I 


30  governed 
fnstances  of 
t  the  same 
)ssion  of  an 
they  ought 
e  partition ; 
t  of  empire 
tied."    The 
,  in  the  case 
r  of  the  ad- 
e  an  island 
itle  to  it  in 
in  fliimine, 
diiminis  te- 
tninis  prope 
sque  fundi, 
I  proximior 
am  praedia 
se  where  a 
belongs  to 
the  Digest 
I  river  has 
re  property 
3d  its  new 
ctly  speak- 
nuch  as  he 
rum  novus 
mm  fuerit 
ta  ratione 
ager,  qui 
mum  pra3. 
im  partem 

h  are  pos- 
is,  that 
ry  ;  since 
unis  juris, 
prescribed 
tion,"  ob- 
,  p.  339,) 
ights,  and 
ose  claim- 


COXTIOUITV  A    RECIPROCAL    TITLK. 


127 


ro  to 


in«r  under  it,  in  the  same  manner  as  all  other  demanr' 
be  substantiated,  by  clear  and  competent  evidence." 

A  title  by  contiguity,  as  between  conterminous  states,  would 
thus  appear  to  be  a  reciprocal  title  :  it  cannot  be  advanced  by 
one  party,  excepting  as  a  principle  which  sanctions  a  corres- 
ponding right  in  the  other.  The  practice  is  in  accordance 
with  this.  Thus,  the  United  States  of  America,  in  its  dis- 
cussions  with  Spain  respecting  the  western  boundary  of  Louis* 
iana,  contended,  that  "whenever  one  European  nation  makes 
a  di  jcovery,  and  takes  possession  of  any  jjortion  of  that  con- 
tinent (sc,  of  America,)  and  another  afterwards  docs  the  same 
at  some  distance  from  it,  where  the  boundary  between  them  is 
not  determined  by  the  principle  above  mentioned,  (sc,  actual 
jmssession  of  the  soa-coast,)  the  middle  distance  becomes  such 
of  course."  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1817-18, 
p.  328.) 

Circumstances  however  will  sometimes  create  exceptions, 
as  for  instance,  where  the  control  of  a  district  left  unoccupied 
is  necessary  for  the  security  of  a  state,  and  not  essential  to 
that  of  another  :  in  this  case  the  principle  o{  vie  i  nil  as  \vou\d 
be  overruled  by  higher  considerations,  as  it  would  inter- 
fere with  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  existing  rights  of  established 
domain. 

Thus  Vattel,  1.  i.,  §  288.  "  A  nation  may  appropriate  to 
herself  those  things  of  which  the  free  and  common  use  would 
be  prejudicial  or  dangerous  to  her.  This  is  a  second  reason 
for  which  governments  extend  their  dominion  over  the  sea  along 
their  coasts,  as  far  as  they  are  able  to  protect  their  rights.  It 
is  of  considerable  importance  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the 
state  that  a  general  liberty  be  not  allowed  to  all  comers  to  ap- 
proach  so  near  their  possessions,  especially  with  ships  of  war, 
as  to  hinder  the  approach  of  trading  nations,  and  molest  their 
navigation."  And  again,  after  stating  that  it  was  not  easy  to 
determine  strictly  the  limits  of  this  right,  he  goes  on  to  say  : 
"Each  state  may,  on  this  head,  make  what  regulation  it  pleases 
so  far  as  respects  the  transactions  of  the  citizens  with  each 
other,  or  their  concerns  with  their  sovereign,  but,  between  na- 
tion and  nation,  all  that  can  reasonably  be  said  is,  that  in  ge. 
neral,  the  dominion  of  the  state  over  the  ncifjhborinjj  sea  ex- 
tends  as  far  as  her  safety  renders  it  necessary  and  her  power  is 
able  to  assert  it ;  since  on  the  one  hand  she  cannot  appropri- 
ate to  herself  a  thing  that  is  common  to  all  mankind,  such  as 
the  sea,  except  so  far  as  she  has  need  of  it  for  some  lawful  end. 


•'4. 


j 


:  ^ 

f.:  ■  j; 


I  . 


.1 


M. 


'1,1' 


128 


BIGHT    OP    PRE-EMPTION. 


and  on  the  other,  it  would  he  a  vain  and  ridiculous  pretension 
to  claim  a  right  which  she  were  wholly  unahle  to  assert."  At 
present,  by  the  general  law  of  nations,  the  possession  of  the 
coast  is  held  to  entitle  a  nation  to  exclusive  jurisdiction  over 
the  adjoining  seas  to  the  extent  of  a  marine  league,  as  being 
necessary  for  the  free  execution  of  her  own  municipal  laws, 
and  as  being  within  the  limits  which  she  can  command  by  her 
cannon.  On  the  ground  then  of  her  own  right  of  self-preser- 
vation, a  nation  which  has  made  a  settlement  may  possess  a 
perfect  right  of  excluding  other  nations  from  settling  within  a 
given  distance.  This  right,  however,  is  evidently  an  accessory 
of  the  right  of  settlement. 

A  further  accessorial  right  of  settlement  has,  in  modern 
times,  been  recognised  by  the  practice  of  civili3ed  nations  in 
both  hemispheres,  namely,  a  right  of  pre-emft'on  from  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  in  favor  of  the  nation  which  has  actu- 
ally settled  in  the  country.  It  is  this  right  which  Great  Bri- 
tain asserts  against  all  other  civilised  nations  in  respect  to 
New  Zealand,  and  which  the  United  States  of  America  assert 
against  all  other  civilised  nations  in  respect  to  the  native  In- 
dians. The  claim  involved  in  it  is  evidently  based  upon  the 
principle,  that  the  acquisition  of  such  territory  by  any  other 
nation  would  be  prejudicial  to  the  ivdi  enjoyment  of  the  exist- 
ing territorial  rights  of  the  nation  v  nich  has  made  settlement 
there.  Such  seems  to  be  the  only  recognised  ground  upon 
which  a  perfect  right  of  contiguity  can  be  set  up.  The  prin- 
ciple of  mere  vicinity  in  the  case  of  nations,  unless  strictly 
limited,  will  only  result  in  furnishing  a  graceful  pretext  for  the 
encroachments  of  the  strong  upon  the  weak,  whenever  a 
powerful  state  should  cast  a  longing  eye  upon  an  adjoining 
district,  and  feel  a  natural  inclination  to  render  its  own  pos« 
sessions  more  complete : 

Oh  si  angulus  ille 
Proximus  accodal,  qui  nunc  deforniat  agcllum. 


,ti 

1  ■-;' 


.-,• 

•      .. 

:  1 

t 

t   ■ 
1  , 

■ 

!    t 

1 

1    -P  v    .       .1: 

.  1 

V-^'^l 

!    ' 

^L  1 

Ml_. 

-^ii 

The  right  of  innocent  use  seems  to  have  been  admitted  into 
the  code  of  international  law  in  order  to  obviate  the  strength 
of  this  temptation,  but  it  is  only  an  imperfect  right,  unlike  that 
of  necessity,  and  all  attempts  to  construct  a  title  upon  princi- 
ples of  convenience  can  result  only  in  imperfect  titles,  which 
require  the  express  acknowledgment  of  other  nations  to  give 
them  validity. 


o  assert."  At 


129 


\    < 


CHAPTEH  X. 

ON  DERIVATIVK  TITLK. 

Title  by  Conquest. — Title  hy  Convention. — Vuttel  — Martens.— Wlira- 
ton. — The  Practice  of  Nations. — United  States. — (Jreat  Ilritain. — 
Kent's  Commentaries. —  Mixed  Conventions. — The  Fisheries  of  New- 
foundland.— Treaty  of  Paris. — Distinction  between  Riirlits  and  Liber, 
ties. — Permanent  Servitude. — Nefjoiiations  in  1818.-  Mr.  Adams'  Ar- 
pument." — Lord  Bathurst's  Letter. — Mr.  Adams'  Reply. — Convention 
of  1818. 


Derivative  title  may  result  from  involuntary  or  voluntary 
cession  (traditio.)  Involuntary  cession  takes  place  when  a 
nation  vanquished  in  war  abandons  its  territory  to  the  con- 
queror who  has  seized  it.  Voluntary  cession,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  marked  by  some  compact  or  convention  ;  its  object 
may  be  either  to  prevent  a  war,  or  to  cement  a  peace.  The 
repeated  occurrence  of  such  voluntary  cessions  in  later  times, 
has  led  the  chief  writers  on  international  law  to  make  a  dis- 
tinction  accordingly  between  transitory  conventions,  which 
mark  such  cessions,  and  treaties  properly  so  called. 
Valtel,  b.  xi.,  ch.  xii.,  §  153,  lays  it  down  that, — 
"  The  compacts  which  have  temporary  matters  for  their 
object  are  called  agreements,  conventions,  and  pactions. 
They  are  accomplished  by  one  single  act,  and  not  by  repeated 
acts.  These  compacts  are  perfected  in  their  execution  once 
for  all ;  treaties  receive  a  successive  execution,  whose  dura- 
tion equals  that  of  the  treaty." 

Martens,  §  58,  to  the  same  effect  observes, — 
"  Les  traites  de  cession,  de  limites,  d'echange,  et  ceux 
meme  qui  constituent  une  servitude  de  droit  public,  ont  la  na- 
ture des  conventions  transitoircs  ;  les  traites  d'amitie,  do 
commerce,  de  navigation,  les  alliances  egales  et  inegales,  ont 
celle  des  traites  proprement  dits  {fcpdera.) 

"  Les  conventions  transitoircs  sent  perpetuelles  par  la  na- 
ture de  la  chose."  (§  1.) 

Mr.  Wheaton,  part  iii.,  c.  II,  follows  in  the  same  line  : — 
"  General  compacts  between  nations  may  be  divided  into 
what  are  called  transitory  conventions,  and  treaties  properly 


\h 


}  i 


130 


DOCTRINJi:  or  THE   LMTKD  STATES. 


i     i 


Ir 


II 


:l!  ii, 


II 


!     ! 


iM^i 


tin 


1     ,, 

I  "I 


tM 


so  called.  The  first  are  perpetual  in  their  nature,  so  that 
being  carried  into  ed'ect,  they  subsist  independent  of  any 
change  in  the  sovereignty  and  form  of  government  of  the 
contracting  parties  ;  and  although  their  o|)eration  may  in 
some  cases  be  suspended  during  war,  tlu'v  revive  on  the  rtlurn 
of  peace  without  any  express  stipulatiun.  Such  are  treaties 
of  cession,  boundary,  or  e.\chang«;  of  territory,  or  those  which 
create  a  permanent  servitude  in  favor  of  one  nation  v.ithin 
the  territory  of  another." 

If  wo  look  to  the  practice  of  nations,  wc  find  that  the  tri- 
bunals of  the  United  States,  equally  with  those  of  (ircat  IJri- 
tain,  maintain  this  doctrine.  Tluis  in  the  case  of  The  .Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  v.  Town 
of  Ncwhavcn,  in  VVheaton's  Reports  of  Cases  adjudged  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  Feb.  182M,  vol.  viii., 
p.  494,  IMr.  Justice  Washington,  in  delivering  judgment  for 
the  plaintiffs,  said,  "  But  wo  arc  not  inclined  to  admit  the 
doctrine  urged  at  the  bar,  that  treaties  become  extinguished, 
ipso  facto,  by  war  between  the  two  governments,  unless  they 
should  be  revived  by  an  express  or  implied  renewal  on  the 
return  of  peace.  Whatever  may  be  the  latitude  of  doctrine 
laid  down  by  elementary  writers  on  the  law  of  nations,  dealing 
in  general  terms  in  relation  to  this  suhject,  we  arc  satisfied 
that  the  doctrine  contended  for  is  not  universally  true.  There 
may  be  treaties  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  their  object  and  im- 
port, as  that  war  will  put  an  end  to  them  ;  but  where  treaties 
contemplate  a  permanent  arrangement  of  territorial  and  other 
national  rights,  or  which,  in  their  terms,  arc  meant  to  provide 
for  the  event  of  an  intervening  war,  it  v/ould  be  against  every 
principle  of  just  interpretation  to  hold  them  extinguished  by 
the  event  of  the  war.  If  such  were  the  law,  even  the  treaty 
of  1783,  so  far  as  it  fixed  our  limits,  and  acknowledged  our 
independence,  would  be  gone,  and  wc  should  have  had  again 
to  struggle  for  both  upon  origin.il  revolutionary  principles. 
Such  a  construction  was  never  asserted,  and  would  be  so 
monstrous  as  to  supersede  all  reasoning. 

"  We  think,  therefore,  that  treaties  stipulating  for  perma- 
nent rights  and  general  arrangements,  and  professing  to  aim 
at  perpeiuity,  and  to  deal  with  the  case  of  war  as  well  as  of 
peace,  do  not  cease  on  the  occurrence  of  war,  but  are  at  most 
only  suspended  while  it  hists  ;  and  unless  they  are  waived  by 
the  parties,  or  new  and  repugnant  stipulations  are  made,  they 
revive  in  their  operation  at  the  return  of  peace  ?" 


1 


•i;-.  ^..! 


rKRMANENT   PH0VISIO8. 


131 


uro,  so  that 
[lent  of  any 
ment  of  tin; 
ion  may  in 
)n  the  ntiirn 
I  are  treaties 
those  which 
ation  witiiiri 

tliat  the  tri- 
f  Great  Hri- 
Thc  Society 
rts  V.  Town 
adjudged  in 
2H,  vol.  viii., 
idgmcnt  for 
to  admit  the 
xtingiiished, 
unless  they 
^wal  on  the 
of  doctrine 
ons,  deahng 
arc  satisfied 
rue.  There 
cct  and  im- 
lere  treaties 
aland  other 

to  provide 
gainst  every 
guished  by 

the  treaty 
lodged  our 

had  again 

principles, 
ould  be  so 

for  pcrma- 
ing  to  aim 
well  as  of 

are  at  most 
waived  by 

made,  they 


I 


In  the  case  of  Sutton  v.  Sutton,  1  Hussrll  and  .\l\liu%  j). 
663,  which  was  decided  by  Sir  J.  liCach,  m  the  Rolls  Court 
in  London,  i'\  18^10,  a  question  was  raised  whether  by  the 
ninth  articK  of  the  treaty  of  1704,  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  I'nitcd  States,  American  eiti/ens  who  held  lands  in 
Great  Britain  on  Oct.  ~(),  171)5,  and  their  heirs  and  assigns, 
are  at  all  times  to  be  considered,  as  far  as  regards  those  lantls, 
not  as  aliens,  but  as  native  subjects  of  Great  IJrilain.  The 
'28th  article  of  the  treaty  declared  that  the  ten  first  articles 
should  be  permanent,  but  the  counsel  in  support  of  the  objec- 
tion to  the  title  contended,  that  "  it  was  impossible  to  suggest 
that  the  treaty  was  continuing  in  force  in  1813  ;  it  necessa- 
rily ceased  with  the  commencement  of  the  war.  The  37  G. 
3,  c.  97,  could  not  continue  in  operation  a  moment  longer 
without  violating  the  plainest  words  of  the  Act.  •  That  the 
Avord  '  permanent'  was  used,  not  as  synonymous  with  '  per- 
petual or  everlasting,'  but  in  opposition  to  a  period  of  time 
expressly  limited."  On  the  other  hand,  the  counsel  in  sup- 
port of  the  title  maintained  that  "the  treaty  contained  articles 
of  two  dilierent  descriptions  ;  some  of  them  being  temporary, 
others  of  perpetual  obligation.  Of  those  which  were  tempo- 
rary, some  were  to  last  for  a  limited  period  ;  such  as  the 
various  regulations  concerning  trade  and  navigation  ;  and 
some  were  to  continue  so  long  as  peace  subsisted,  but  being 
inconsistent  with  a  state  of  war,  would  necessarily  expire 
with  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  There  were  otlier 
stipulations  which  were  to  remain  in  force  in  all  time  to  conie, 
unaffected  by  the  contingency  of  peace  or  war.  For  instance, 
there  are  clauses  for  fixing  the  boundaries  of  the  United 
States.  Were  the  boundaries  so  fixed  to  cease  to  be  the 
boundaries,  the  moment  that  hostilities  broke  out  V 

The  Master  of  tlie  Rolls,  in  his  judgment,  said,  "  The  pri- 
vileges  of  natives  being  reciprocally  given,  not  only  to  the 
actual  possessors  of  lands,  but  to  their  heirs  and  assigns,  it  is 
a  reasonable  construction  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
treaty,  that  the  operation  of  the  treaty  should  be  permaiient, 
and  not  depend  upon  the  coniinuance  of  a  state  of  peace." 

"  The  Act  of  the  37  G.  3,  c.  95,  gives  full  effect  to  this 
article  of  the  treaty  in  the  strongest  and  clearest  terms;  and 
if  it  be,  as  T  consider  it,  the  true  construction  of  this  article, 
that  it  was  to  be  permanent,  and  independent  of  a  state  of 
peace  or  war,  then  the  Act  of  Parliament  must  be  held  in  the 
24th  section,  to  declare  this  permanency,  and  when  a  subse- 


h 


!•' 


132 


OF    CERTAIN   TREATIES. 


■'      ,*•■ 


I 


t. 


51  ;■■ 


11 


i : 


;i'!i 


i  Ml;: 


li;!!! 


>  ( 


Ir 


) ; 


qucnt  section  provides  that  the  act  is  to  continue  in  force,  so 
long  only  as  a  state  of  peace  shall  subsist,  it  cannot  be  con- 
strued to  be  d'rectly  repugnant  and  opposed  to  the  24th  sec- 
tion, but  is  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  such  provisions  of 
I  he  Act  only  as  would  in  their  nature  depend  upon  a  state  o 
peace." 

The  third  article,  however,  of  the  Treaty  of  1794,  which 
may  be  referred  to  in  Martens'  Recueil,  ii.,  p.  497,  was  of  a 
mixed  character,  as  it  recognised  a  right  of  one  kind,  and 
conceded  a  liberty  of  another  kind. 

"  It  is  agreed,  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  shall 
continue  to  enjoy,  unmolested,  the  right  to  take  fish  of  every 
kind  on  the  Grand  Bank,  and  on  other  banks  of  Newfound- 
land ;  also,  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  all  other  places 
in  the  sea  where  the  inhabitants  of  both  countries  used,  at  any 
time  heretofore,  to  fish.  And  also,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
the  United  States  shall  have  liberty  to  take  fish  of  every  kind 
on  such  part  of  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  as  British  fisher- 
men shall  use,  (but  not  to  dry  or  cure  the  same  on  that  island) 
and  also  on  the  coasts,  bays,  and  creeks  of  all  other  of  Jier 
Britannic  Majesty's  dominions  in  America ;  and  that  the 
American  fishermen  shall  have  liberty  to  dry  and  cure  fish  in 
any  of  the  unsettled  bays,  harbors,  and  creeks  of  Nova  Scotia, 
Magdalen  Islands,  and  Labrador,  so  long  as  the  same  shall  re- 
main unsettled;  but  so  soon  as  the  same,  or  either  of  them, 
shall  be  settled,  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  the  said  fishermen 
to  dry  or  cure  fish  at  such  settlements  without  a  previous  agree- 
ment for  that  purpose  with  the  inhabitants,  proprietors,  or  pos- 
sessors of  the  ground." 

That  the  grant  of  this  liberty  to  American  fishermen  to  take 
fish  on  portions  of  the  coast  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  do- 
minions, and  to  dry  and  cure  their  fish  unconditionally  on 
certain  districts  not  yet  settled,  subject  however  to  conditions 
when  such  districts  should  become  settled,  was  a  provision  of 
a  distinct  character  from  the  recognition  of  their  right  to  fish 
in  certain  seas  and  gulfs  hitherto  open  to  both  parties — was  to 
be  presumed  both  from  the  terms  of  the  provisions  being  dis- 
tinct from  each  other,  and  from  the  nature  of  the  things  them- 
selves, as  the  liberties  were  to  be  enjoyed  within  his  Britannic 
Majesty's  dominions,  the  right  was  to  be  exercised  in  the  seas 
and  gulfs,  over  which  his  Britannic  Majesty  claimed  no  ex- 
clusive sovereignty. 

The  principle  established  by  these  two  cases  seems  to  be 


i  I 

■I  -t  ■ 


, 


MIXED    CONVENTIONS. 


133 


jocms  to  be 


(his^ — that  where  a  convention  in  its  terms  contemplates  a 
permanent  arrangement  of  territorial  or  other  national  right, 
the  continuance  of  which  would  not  bo  inconsistent  with  a 
state  of  war,  it  will  not  expire  with  the  commencement  of 
hostilities,  though  its  operation  may  in  certain  cases  be  sus. 
pended  till  the  return  of  peace. 

Hence  indeed,  conventions,  by  which  a  right  is  recognised, 
are  no  sooner  executed  than  they  are  completed  and  perfected. 
If  they  arc  valid,  they  have  in  their  own  nature  a  perpetual 
and  irrevocable  effect.  To  use  the  words  of  Vattcl,  "As 
soon  as  a  right  is  transferred  bv  lawful  convention,  it  no  longer 
belongs  to  the  state  that  has  ceded  it :  the  affair  is  concluded 
and  terminated." 

To  the  same  effect  Judge  Kent,  the  Blackstone  of  the 
United  States,  in  his  Commentaries  upon  American  law,  (vol. 
i.,  p.  177,)  adopts  almost  word  for  word  the  judgment  of  the 
Supreme  Court : — '♦  Where  treaties  contemplate  a  permanent 
arrangement  of  national  rights,  or  which  bv  their  terms  arc 
meant  to  provide  for  the  event  of  an  intervening  war,  it  would 
be  against  every  principle  of  just  interpretation  to  hold  them 
extinguished  by  the  event  of  war.  They  revive  at  peace, 
unless  waived,  or  new  and  repugnant  stipulations  be  made." 

Discussions,  however,  and  disputes  have  not  unfrequently 
arisen  as  to  the  character  of  certain  conventions,  from  the 
circumstance  that  on  occasions  where  rights  have  been  recog- 
nised,  liberties  or  favors  have  been  conceded  in  other  articles 
of  the  same  agreement. 

To  this  effect  Martens  (§  58)  observes,  *'  Cette  distinction 
cntre  Ics  conventions  transitoircs  et  les  traitrs  serait  encore 
pkis  importante,  si  nombre  des  traites,  et  nommement  les 
traites  de  paix,  n'etaient  pas  composes  d'articles  de  I'un  et  de 
''autre  genre,  [mixtes,]  ce  qui  met  dcla  ditficultc  dans  I'appli. 
cation  des  principes  cnoncos." 

A  striking  illustration  of  this  observation  of  M.  Martens 
may  be  found  in  the  discussions  which  took  place  between  the 
governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  respect 
to  the  fisheries  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  after  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent. 

By  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris  in  1783; 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of  America,  his 
Britannic  Majesty  had  acknowledged  the  said  United  States 
[fourteen  in  number  as  specified]  to  bo  free,  sovereign,  and 
independent  states. 


■  t 


m 


ii 


134 


KECOGNITIOA'S    OF   HVDErENDEXCU, 


i   . 

.:  1 
■■  1 

i 

1 

<  ■                    f 

■  ■                                 ,'    -i 

r                        ' 

'■,    IV'. 


If 


s 

1 

i 

i  . 


|t* 


4 


'  -      ■  u 


in 


1  i 


iit< ' 


'•i 


■!!  > 

1  j     !  ! 

1 H  ill 


!■•■ 


ill  I  lit 


•   'I 


This  article  then  contained  the  recognition  of  a  right  once 
and  for  all ;  and  as  the  main  and  principal  object  of  the 
treaty  was  the  recopjnition  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  this  treaty  may  justly  be  classed  amongst  transitory 
conventions,  which  are  completed  and  perfected  as  soon  as 
executed. 

Another  question,  however,  might  obviously  be  raised  in 
case  of  a  war, — whether  the  words  of  the  article  created 
what  Martens  designates  "  une  servitude  do  droit  public,"  and 
what  Mr.  Wheaton  speaks  of  as  "  a  permanent  servitude  in 
favor  of  one  nation  within  the  territory  of  another,"  which  from 
the  nature  of  the  thing  would  be  suspended  during  the  war, 
but  would  revive  on  the  restoration  of  peace,  or  whether  they 
merely  conceded  a  favor,  the  duration  of  which  would  be  sub- 
ject to  the  continuance  of  peaceful  re?ations  between  tlie  two 
states,  so  that  the  obligation  would  cease  with  the  breaking 
out  of  war. 

In  the  negotiations  v.bich  took  place  in  1818  between  the 
two  governments  [British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1819-20,] 
Mr.  Adams,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  contended  that 
the  treaty  of  1783  was  not  one  of  those,  "  which,  by  the 
common  understanding  and  usage  of  civilized  nations,  is  or 
can  be  considered  as  annulled  by  a  subsequent  war  between 
the  same  parties.  To  suppose  that  it  is,  would  imply  the  in- 
consistency and  absurdity  of  a  sovereign  and  independent 
state  liable  to  forfeit  its  right  of  sovereignty,  by  the  act  of 
exercising  it  in  a  declaration  of  war.  But  the  very  words  of 
the  treaty  attest,  that  the  sovereignty  and  independence  of 
the  United  States  were  not  considered  or  onderstood  as  grants 
from  his  Majesty.  They  were  taken  and  cnpressed  as  ex- 
isting before  the  treaty  was  made,  and  as  then  only  first  for- 
mally recognized  and  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain. 

"  Precisely  of  the  same  nature  were  the  rights  and  liberties 
in  the  fisheries  to  which  I  now  refer.  They  were  in  no  re- 
spect grants  from  the  King  of  Great  Britain  to  the  United 
States  ;  but  the  acknowledgment  of  them,  as  rights  and  liber- 
ties enjoyed  before  the  separation  of  the  two  countries,  which 
it  was  mutually  agreed  should  continue  to  be  enjoyed  under 
the  new  relations  which  were  to  subsist  between  them,  con- 
stituted the  essence  of  the  article  concerning  the  fisheries. 
The  very  peculiarity  of  the  stipulation  is  an  evidence  that  it 
was  not,  on  either  side,  understood  or  intended  aa  a  grant 
from  one  sovereign  state  to  another.     Had  it  been  so  under- 


I 


\P^-  — 


I  of  a  right  oner 
al  object  of  the 
ce  of  the  United 
riongst  transitory 
3cted  as  soon  as 

»sly  be  raised  in 
article  created 
froit  public,"  and 
lent  servitude  it; 
her,"  which  from 
during  the  war, 
or  whether  they 
2h  would  be  sub- 
f?etween  tlie  two 
th  the  breakinr' 

18  between  the 
apers,  1819-20,] 
,  contended  that 
•which,  by  the 
d  nations,  is  or 
it  war  between 
d  imply  the  in- 
nd  independent 
,  by  the  act  of 
e  very  words  of 
idependence  of 
stood  as  gran(s 
pressed  as  ex- 
1  only  first  for- 
Britain, 
ts  and  liberties 
were  in  no  re- 
to  the  United 
ghts  and  liber- 
)untrics,  which 
enjoyed  under 
en  them,  con- 
the  fisheries, 
k'idence  that  it 
id  as  a  grant 
teen  so  under- 


i 


TREATIES  TERMINABLE  BY  WAR. 


135 


stood,  neither  could  the  United  States  have  claimed,  nor  would 
Great  Britain  have  granted  gratuitously,  any  such  concession. 
There  was  nothing  either  in  the  state  of  things  or  in  the  dis- 
position of  the  parties  which  could  have  led  to  such  a  stipu- 
lation, as  on  the  ground  of  a  grant,  without  an  equivalent  by 
Great  Britain." 

Lord  Bathurst's  letter  of  October  30,  1815,  to  Mr.  Adams, 
contains  a  full  exposition  of  the  doctrine  maintained  by  Great 
Britain.  It  is  worthy  of  perusal  in  full,  but,  as  its  great 
length  precludes  its  insertion  on  the  present  occasion,  the  pas- 
sages have  been  selected  which  bear  most  closely  on  the 
question. 

"The  Minister  of  the  United  States  appears,  by  his  letter, 
to  be  well  aware  that  Great  Britain  has  always  considered  the 
liberty  formerly  enjoyed  by  the  United  States,  of  fishing 
within  British  limits,  and  using  British  territories,  as  derived 
from  the  third  article  of  the  Treaty  of  1783,  and  from  that 
alone  ;  and  that  the  claim  of  an  independent  state  to  occupy 
and  use,  at  its  discretion,  any  portion  of  the  territory  of  an- 
other, without  compensation  or  corresponding  indulgence, 
cannot  rest  on  any  other  foundation  than  conventional  stipu- 
lation. It  is  unnecessary  to  enquire  into  the  motives  which 
might  have  originally  influenced  Great  Britain  in  conceding 
such  liberties  to  the  United  States  ;  or  whether  other  articles 
of  the  treaty  wherein  these  liberties  are  specified,  did,  or  did 
not,  in  fact  afford  an  equivalent  for  them  ;  because  all  stipu- 
lations profess  to  be  founded  on  equivalent  advantages  and 
mutual  convenience.  If  the  United  States  derived  from  that 
treaty  privileges  from  which  other  independent  nations,  not 
admitted  by  treaty,  were  excluded,  the  duration  of  the  privi- 
leges must  depend  on  the  duration  of  the  instrument  by  which 
they  were  granted  ;  and,  if  the  war  abrogated  the  treaty,  it 
determined  the  privileges.  It  has  been  urged,  indeed,  on  tho 
part  of  the  United  States,  that  the  treaty  of  1783  was  of  a 
peculiar  character  ;  and  that,  because  it  contained  a  recogni- 
tion of  American  independence,  it  could  not  be  abrogated  by 
a  subsequent  war  between  the  parties.  To  a  position  of  this 
novel  nature,  Great  Britain  cannot  accede.  She  knows  of 
no  exception  to  the  rule,  that  all  treaties  are  put  an  end  to  by 
a  subsequent  war  between  the  same  parties ;  she  cannot, 
therefore,  consent  to  give  to  her  diplomatic  relations  with  one 
state,  a  different  degree  of  permanency  from  that  on  which 
her  connection  with  all  other  states  depends.     Nor  can  she 


r. 


^  ! 


■  n 

.j 


\\ 


il 


f  I 


!  M 


P 


i;t 


ii  1 

mi 


M 


!  I 


n 


m; 

i'     r 

t  i      , 

i 


1  j;^ 
P 


13G 


IRREVOCABLE    RECOGNITIOAS. 


consider  any  one  state  at  liberty  to  assign  to  a  treaty  made 
with  her,  such  a  pccuUarity  of  character  as  shall  make  it,  as 
to  duration,  an  exception  to  all  other  treaties,  in  order  to  found, 
on  a  peculiarity  thus  assumed,  an  irrevocable  title  to  indul- 
gences, which  have  all  the  features  of  temporary  concessions." 


"  It  is  by  no  means  unusual  for  trcalies  containing  recogni' 
iions  and  acTxnowhdgmcnls  of  title,  in  the  nature  of  perpetual 
obligation,  to  contain,  likewise,  grants  of  ptrivileges  liable  to  re- 
vocation. The  Treaty  of  1783,  like  many  others,  contained 
provisions  of  different  characters,  some  in  their  own  nature  ir- 
revocable, and  others  of  a  temporary  nature.  If  it  be  thence 
inferred,  that,  because  some  advantages  specified  in  a  treaty 
could  not  be  put  an  end  to  by  the  war,  therefore  all  the  other 
advantages  were  intended  to  be  equally  permanent,  it  must 
first  be  shown  that  the  advantages  themselves  are  of  the  same, 
or,  at  least,  of  a  similar  character  :  for  the  character  of  one 
advantage  recognised  or  conceded  by  treaty,  can  have  no 
connection  with  the  character  of  another,  though  conceded 
by  the  same  instrument,  unless  it  arises  out  of  a  strict  and 
necessary  connection  between  the  advantages  themselves. 
But  what  necessary  connection  can  there  be  between  a 
right  to  independence,  and  a  liberty  to  fish  within  British 
jurisdiction,  or  to  use  British  territory  ?  Liberties  within 
British  limits  are  as  capable  of  being  exercised  by  a  dependent, 
as  an  independent  state,  and  cannot  therefore  be  the  necessary 
coi  sequences  of  independence. 

'•  The  independence  of  a  state  is  that  which  cannot  be  cor- 
rectly said  to  be  granted  by  a  treaty  but  to  be  acknowledged 
by  one.  In  the  Treaty  of  1783,  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  was  certainly  acknowledged  ;  but  it  had  been 
before  acknowledged,  not  merely  by  the  consent  to  make  the 
treaty,  but  by  the  previous  consent  to  enter  into  the  provision- 
al articles  executed  November,  1782.  The  independence 
might  have  been  acknowledged,  without  either  the  treaty  or 
the  provisional  articles  ;  but  by  whatever  mode  acknowledged 
the  acknowledgment  is,  in  its  own  nature,  irrevocable.  A 
power  of  revoking,  or  even  modifying  it,  would  be  destruc- 
tive of  the  thing  itself;  and,  therefore,  all  such  power  is  ne- 
cessarily renounced,  when  the  acknowledgment  is  made. 
The  war  could  not  put  an  end  to  it,  for  the  reason  justly  as- 
signed by  the  American  Minister,  because   a  nation  cannot 


LIBERTY    DIFPERENT    FUOM    RIGHT. 


137 


L  treaty  made 
lU  make  it,  as 
>rder  to  found, 
title  to  indul- 
concessions." 


ning  recngni.- 
'■  ofperpelual 
;*  liable  to  re- 
rs,  contained 
wn  nature  ir- 
f  it  be  thence 
Qd  in  a  treaty 
all  the  other 
lent,  it  must 
!  of  the  same, 
acter  of  one 
;an  have  no 
gh  conceded 
"a  strict  and 

themselves. 

between  a 
ithin  British 
crties  within 
a  dependent, 
he  necessary 

:nnot  be  cor- 
jknowledged 
ience  of  the 
it  had  been 
to  make  the 
he  provision- 
idependence 
he  treaty  or 
iknowledged 
vocable.  A 
be  destruc- 
Jower  is  ne- 
nt  is  made, 
n  justly  as- 
ition  cannot 


forfeit  its  sovereignty  by  the  act  of  exercising  it ;  and  for  the 
further  reason  that  Great  Britain,  when  she  declared  war  on 
her  part  against  the  United  States,  gave  them  by  that  very 
act  a  new  recognition  of  their  independence. 

"  The  nature  of  the  liberty  to  fish  within  British  limits,  or 
to  use  British  territory,  is  essentially  different  from  the  right 
to  independence,  in  all  that  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  re- 
gard its  intended  duration.  The  grant  of  this  liberty  has  all 
the  aspect  of  a  policy  temporary  and  experimental,  depend- 
ing upon  the  use  that  might  be  made  of  it,  on  the  condition 
of  the  islands  and  places  where  it  was  to  be  exercised,  and 
the  more  general  conveniences  or  inconveniences,  in  a  mili- 
tary, naval,  or  commercial  point  of  view,  resulting  from  the 
n  cess  of  an  independent  nation  to  such  islands  and  places. 
When,  therefore,  Great  Britain,  admitting  the  independence 
of  the  United  States,  denies  their  rights  to  the  liberties  for 
which  they  now  contend,  it  is  not  that  she  selects  from  the 
treaty  articles  or  parts  of  articles,  and  says,  at  her  own  will. 
This  stipulation  is  liable  to  forfeiture  by  war,  and  that  is  ir- 
revocable ;  but  the  principle  of  her  reasoning  is,  that  such 
distinctions  arise  out  of  the  provisions  themselves,  and  are 
founded  on  the  very  nature  of  the  grants.  But  the  rights  ac- 
knowledged by  the  treaty  of  1783  are  not  only  distinguish- 
able from  the  liberties  conceded  by  the  same  treaty  in  the 
foundation  upon  which  they  stand,  but  they  are  carefully 
distinguished  in  the  treaty  of  1783  itself. 

"  The  undersigned  begs  to  call  the  attention  of  the  American 
minister  to  the  wording  of  the  1st  and  2nd  articles,  to  which 
he  has  often  referred  for  the  foundation  of  his  arguments. 
In  the  1st  article,  Great  Britain  acknowledges  an  independ- 
ence already  expressly  recognised  by  other  powers  of  Europe, 
and  by  herself,  in  her  consent  to  enter  into  provisional  ar- 
ticles, of  Nov.  1782.  In  the  3rd  article  Great  Britain  ac- 
knowledges the  I'ight  of  the  United  States  to  take  fish  on  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  other  places,  from  which  Great 
Britain  had  no  right  to  exclude  any  independent  nation. 
But  they  are  to  have  the  liberty  to  take  fish  on  the  coasts  of 
his  Majesty's  dominions  in  America,  and  liberty  to  cure  and 
dry  them  in  certain  unsettled  places  within  his  Majesty's 
territory.  If  these  liberties,  thus  granted,  were  to  be  as  per- 
petual and  indefeasible  as  the  rights  previously  recognized,  it 
is  difiicult  to  conceive  that  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United 
States  would  have  admitted  a  variation  of  language  so  adapt- 


k  i 


A 

i 
"I 


^: 


138 


LIBERTIES    DISTINCT    FROM   RIGHTS. 


I    I 


Mi''   ''l* 
<!     ■■•.'..■ 

11.     i^' 


Hi'. 


M 


\U\ 


ed  to  produce  a  different  impression,  and  above  all,  that  they 
should  have  admitted  so  strange  a  restriction  of  a  perpetual 
and  indefeasible  right,  as  that  with  which  the  article  concludes, 
which  leaves  a  right,  so  practical  and  so  beneficial  as  this 
is  admitted  to  be,  dependent  on  the  will  of  British  subjects,  in 
their  character  of  inhabitants,  proprietors,  or  possessors  of  the 
soil,  to  prohibit  its  exercise  altogether. 

"It  is  clearly  obvious  that  the  word  right  is,  throughout  the 
treaty,  used  as  applicable  to  what  the  United  States  were  to 
enjoy  in  virtue  of  a  recognized  independence,  and  the  word 
liberty  to  what  they  were  to  enjoy,  as  concessions  strictly  de- 
pendent on  the  treaty  itself." 

Mr.  Adams,  in  his  reply  to  Viscount  Castlereagh,  of  Jan.  22, 
1816,  having  explicitly  "disavowed  every  pretence  of  claiming 
for  the  diplomatic  relations  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  a  degree  of  permanency  different  from  that  of 
the  same  relations  between  either  of  the  parties  and  all  other 
powers,"  goes  on  to  state,  *'  The  undersigned  believes  that 
there  are  many  exceptions  to  the  rule  by  which  treaties  be- 
tween nations  are  mutually  considered  as  terminated  by  the 
intervention  of  war  ;  that  these  exceptions  extend  to  the  en- 
gagements contracted,  with  the  understanding  that  they  are 
to  operate  equally  in  war  and  peace,  or  exclusively  during 
war  :  to  all  engagements  by  which  the  parties  superadd  the 
sanction  of  a  formal  compact  to  principles  dictated  by  the 
eternal  laws  of  morality  and  humanity  ;  and  finally  to  all 
engagements  which,  according  to  the  expression  of  Lord 
Bathurst's  note,  are  in  the  nature  of  a  perpetual  obligation. 
To  the  first  and  second  of  these  classes  may  be  referred  the 
10th  article  of  the  treaty  of  1794,  and  all  treaties  or  articles 
of  treaties  stipulating  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade.  The 
treaty  of  peace  of  1783  belongs  to  the  third." 

"  The  reasoning  of  Lord  Bathurst's  note  seems  to  confine 
this  perpetuity  of  obligation  to  recognitions  and  acknowledg- 
ments of  title  ;  and  to  consider  its  perpetual  nature  as  result- 
ing from  the  subject  matter  of  the  contract,  and  not  from  the 
engagement  of  the  contractor.  Whilst  Great  Britain  leaves 
the  United  States  unmolested  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  ad- 
vantages, rights,  and  liberties,  stipulated  in  their  behalf  in  the 
Treaty  of  1783,  it  is  immaterial  to  them  whether  she  founds 
her  conduct  upon  the  mere  fact  that  the  United  States  are  in 
possession  of  such  rights,  or  whether  she  is  governed  by  good 
faith  and  respect  for  her  own  engagements.     But  if  she  con- 


» 


\S  — 


s. 


TREATY — STIPULATIONS. 


139 


all,  that  they 
of  a  perpetual 
icle  concludes, 
eficial  as  this 
ish  subjects,  in 
ssessors  of  the 

hroughout  the 
itates  were  to 
and  the  word 
ns  strictly  de- 

h,  of  Jan.  22, 
ce  of  claiming 
d  States  and 
from  that  of 
and  all  other 
believes  that 
h  treaties  be- 
inated  by  the 
nd  to  the  en- 
hat  they  are 
sively  during 
superadd  the 
tated  by  the 
finally   to  all 
ion    of  Lord 
obligation, 
referred  the 
!S  or  articles 
trade.     The 

IS  to  confine 
icknowledjr- 
re  as  result- 
lot  from  the 
itain  leaves 
f  all  the  ad- 
•ehalf  in  the 

she  founds 
>tates  are  in 
ed  by  good 

if  she  con- 


tests any  one  o"  them,  it  is  to  her  engagements  only  that  the 
United  States  c.  n  appeal  as  to  the  rule  for  settling  the  ques- 
tion of  right.  If  tiiis  appeal  be  rejected,  it  ceases  to  be  a  dis- 
cussion of  right,  and  this  observation  appiies  as  strongly  to  the 
recognition  of  independence,  and  to  the  boundary  line,  in  the 
Treaty  of  1763,  as  to  the  fisheries.  It  is  truly  observed  by 
Lord  Bathurst,  that  in  that  treaty  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  was  not  granted,  but  acknowledged.  He  adds, 
that  it  might  have  been  ackno\vledged  without  any  treaty, 
and  that  the  acknowledgment,  in  whatever  mode  made, 
would  have  been  irrevocable.  But  the  independen.;e  of  the 
United  States  was  precisely  the  question  upon  which  a 
previous  war  between  them  and  Great  Britain  had  been 
waged.  Other  nations  might  acknowledge  their  independ- 
ence without  a  treaty,  because  they  had  no  right,  or  claim  of 
right,  to  contest  it :  but  this  acknowledgment,  to  be  binding 
upon  Great  Britain,  could  have  been  made  only  by  treaty, 
because  it  included  the  dissolution  of  one  social  compact  be- 
tween the  parties,  as  well  as  the  formation  of  another.  Peace 
could  exist  between  the  two  nations  only  by  the  mutual 
pledge  of  faith  to  the  new  social  relations  established  between 
them,  and  hence  it  was  that  the  stipulations  of  that  treaty 
were  in  the  nature  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  not  liable  to  be 
forfeited  by  a  subsequent  war,  or  by  any  declaration  of  the 
will  of  either  party  without  the  assent  of  the  other." 

Mr.  Adams  then  proceeds  to  discuss  the  variation  in  the 
employment  of  the  terms  right  and  liberty,  considering  the 
former  to  import  an  advantage  to  be  enjoj-^ed  in  a  place  of 
common  jurisdiction,  the  latter  to  refer  to  the  same  advantage, 
incidentally  leading  to  the  borders  of  a  special  jurisdiction. 
That  the  term  right  was  used  as  applicable  to  what  the 
United  States  were  to  enjoy  in  virtue  of  a  recognised  in- 
dependence, and  the  word  liberty  to  what  they  were  to  enjoy 
as  concessions  strictly  dependent  on  the  treaty  itself,  he  de- 
clined to  admit,  as  a  construction  altogether  unfounded. 

He  further  contended,  that  "  the  restriction  at  the  close  of 
the  article  was  itself  a  confirmation  of  the  permanency  of  every 
part  of  the  article,"  for  that,  "  upon  the  common  and  equitable 
rule  of  construction  for  treaties,  the  expression  of  one  restric- 
tion implies  the  exclusion  of  all  others  not  expressed  ;  and  thus 
the  very  limitation,  which  looks  forward  to  the  time  when 
the  unsettled  deserts  should  become  inhabited,  to  modify 
the    enjoyment    of  the   same  liberty,  conformably  to    the 


4;''t 


A' 

k 

."I 


,'i 


it; 


fl 


4^1 


■t  ■  ;i 


140 


CONVENTION    OF    1818. 


change  of  circumstances,  corroborates  the  conclusion  that 
the  wiiolc  purport  of  the  compact  was  permanent  and 
not  temporary." 

The  documents  from  which  these  extracts  have  been  made 
will  well  repay  a  perusal  of  them  in  full,  both  from  the  im- 
portance of  the  principles  which  are  therein  discussed,  and 
from  the  ability  with  which  the  discussion  was  conducted  on 
both  sides.  The  result  of  the  negotiations  was  the  con- 
clusion of  the  convention  of  October  20,  1818,  by  which  the 
liberty  to  take  and  cure  fish  on  certain  parts  of  the  British 
American  coasts,  so  long  as  tbey  remained  unsettled  was 
secured  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  common  with 
British  subjects  ^^for  ever" 

It  appears  to  have  been  admitted  by  both  parties  to  this 
negotiation,  that  treaties  do  sometimes  contain  acknowledg- 
ments in  the  nature  of  a  perpetual  obligation :  the  point  at 
issue  between  them  seems  to  have  been,  whether  the  provi- 
sions of  a  convention  could  ever  be  considered  as  of  a  mixed 
character,  some  of  which  would  be  terminable  by  war,  whilst 
others  were  irrevocable  ;  and  whether  the  nature  of  the  thing 
acknowledged  determined  the  character  of  the  provision,  or 
the  engagement  of  a  treaty  gave  permanence  to  the  obliga- 
tion. It  seems  to  have  been  implied  by  the  insertion  of  the 
words  "  for  ever,"  in  the  first  article  of  the  Convention  of 
1818,  that  if  the  permanent  character  of  the  thing  recog- 
nised is  not  beyond  dispute,  the  words  of  the  convention  must 
be  express,  in  order  to  give  to  the  engagements  of  it  the  na- 
ture of  a  perpetual  obligation.  On  the  other  hand,  both  par- 
ties admitted  that  recognitions  of  territorial  title  were  of 
perpetual  obligation;  they  differed  as  to  the  grounds:  the 
British  commis^sioner  deriving  the  obligation  from  the  nature 
of  the  thing  recognised,  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
States  from  the  fact  of  its  having  been  recognised  by  a 
convention. 


n 


■if     ^ 


141 


inclusion  that 
rmanent    and 

ve  been  made 
from  the  im. 
Jiscussed,  and 
conducted  on 
was  the  con- 
by  which  the 
of  the  British 
insettled  was 
common  with 

•arties  to  this 
acknowledg. 
the  point  at 
ler  the  provi- 
is  of  a  mixed 
y  war,  whilst 
3  of  the  thing 
provision,  or 
'  the  obliga- 
;rtion  of  the 
onvention  of 
thing  recog- 
vention  must 
of  it  the  na- 
d,  both  par- 
itle  were  of 
[rounds;  the 
1  the  nature 
the  United 
jnised  by  a 


CHAPTER  Xr. 

NEGOTIATION  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  GREAT 

BRITAIN  IN  181S. 

Treaty  of  Ghent,  1814, — Negotiations  respecting  the  Restoration  of  Fort 
George. — The  United  Stales  replaced  in  Possession  of  the  Post  at  the 
Mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.— General  Negotiations  in  London,  in 
1818. — Proposal  on  the  Part  of  the  United  States. — Convention  of 
1818. — No  exclusive  Claim  on  cither  Side. — Western  Boundary  of  the 
United  States  by  the  Treaty  of  1783.— Treaty  of  1 7'J4 —Sources  of 
the  Mississippi  in  47°  38'. — Convention  of  1803,  respecting  the  Boun. 
dary,  not  ratified. — President  Jefferson's  Letter. — Cession  of  Louisiana 
to  the  United  States. — Convention  of  1808. — First  Allusion  to  the 
Country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. — Convention  not  ratified  by 
the  United  States. —  Boundary  Line  according  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht. 
— Opinion  of  Mr.  Greenhow. — Anderson's  History  of  Commerce. — 
Treaty  of  Ryswick  — Limits  of  Canada,  as  surrendered  to  Groat  Bri- 
tain. — Difficulty  of  Boundary  Treaties  from  incorrect  Maps. — Treaty 
of  1783. 

The  Treaty  of  Ghent,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  of  America,  was  signed  on  the  24th  of  December 
1814,  and  it  was  agreed  in  the  first  article,  "that  all  territory, 
places,  and  possessions  whatsoever  taken  by  either  party  from 
the  other  during  the  war,  or  which  may  be  taken  after  the 
signing  of  this  treaty,  excepting  only  the  islands  hereinafter 
mentioned  [in  the  bay  of  Passamaquoddy,]  shall  be  restored 
without  delay."  By  virtue  of  this  article,  Mr.  Monroe,  the 
Secretary  of  State  at  Washington,  wrote  to  Mr.  Baker,  the 
British  charge  d'affaires,  on  July  18,  1815,  to  inform  him 
that  measures  would  be  taken  by  the  United  States  to  occupy 
without  delay  the  post  on  the  Columbia  river,  which  a  British 
expedition  had  succeeded  in  taking  possession  of  during  the 
war,  as  not  being  within  the  exception  stipulated.  [British 
and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1821-22,  p.  459.]  To  this  com- 
munication an  indecisive  reply  was  made  by  Mr.  Baker,  and 
the  affair  was  allowed  to  rest  till  1817,  when  it  appears  that 
the  United  States  despatched  the  Ontario  sloop  of  war  to  re- 
sume possession  of  this  post,  without  giving  previous  notice 


I, 


'H- 


1 


'I 


' 


I  . 


'  .\ 


■a 


■  J 

5) 


!• 


142 


RESTORATION  OF  FORT  OEOROE. 


^  i 

L\., 

V'' '  ' 

II'* 

-»;■■•■ 

U^ 


to  Mr.  Bagot,  the  British  minister  at  Washington.  This  led 
to  an  inquiry  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Bagot,  relative  to  the  des- 
tination of  the  Ontario,  and  the  object  of  her  voyage,  and  to 
a  statement  from  him,  that  "  the  post  in  question  had  not  been 
captured  during  the  late  war,  but  that  the  Americans  had  re- 
tired from  it  under  an  agreement  made  with  the  North-west 
Company,  who  had  purchased  their  effects,  and  who  had  ever 
since  retained  peaceable  possession  of  the  coast."  He  fur- 
ther observed,  that  no  claim  for  the  restitution  of  this  post 
could  be  grounded  upon  the  first  article  of  the  Treaty  of 
Ghent,  and  that  "  the  territory  itself  was  early  taken  posses- 
sion of  in  his  Majesty's  name,  and  has  been  since  considered 
as  forming  a  part  of  his  Majesty's  dominions." 

The  discussion  was  soon  afterwards  transferred  to  London, 
when,  in  February  1818,  Lord  Castlercagh  intimated  his  re- 
gret that  no  notice  of  the  expedition  of  the  Ontario  should 
have  been  given  to  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  Great 
Britain  having  a  claim  of  dominion  over  the  territory  in 
question.  It  was  the  desire,  however,  he  said,  of  the  British 
Government,  that  the  claim  of  title  to  this  post  should  go 
before  commissioners  for  arbitration.  Mr.  Rush,  the  Min- 
ister of  the  United  States,  was  authorised  to  state  that  the 
omission  to  give  notice  of  the  Ontario's  departure  to  Mr. 
Bagot,  was  entirely  owing  to  the  accident  of  the  President 
being  absent  from  the  seat  of  government,  but  that  it  had 
been  concluded  from  Mr.  Baker's  communications  that  no 
authorised  English  establishment  existed  at  the  place,  and  "  as 
they  intimated  no  question  whatever  of  the  title  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  to  the  settlement,  which  existed  there  before  the 
late  war,  it  did  not  occur  thai,  any  such  question  had  since 
arisen,  which  could  make  it  an  object  of  interest  to  Great 
Britain." 

Mr.  Adams,  in  the  course  of  his  subsequent  instructions  to 
Mr.  Rush,  in  his  letter  of  May  20,  1818,  sets  forth  very 
clearly  and  fully  the  pretensions  of  the  United  States.  "  As 
it  was  not  anticipated  that  any  disposition  existed  in  the  British 
government  to  start  questions  of  title  with  us  on  the  borders 
of  the  South  Sea,  we  could  have  no  possible  motive  for  reserve 
or  concealment  with  regard  to  the  expedition  of  the  Ontario. 
In  suggesting  theje  ideas  to  Lord  Castlereagh,  rather  in  con- 
versation than  in  any  formal  manner,  it  may  be  proper  to 
remark  the  minuteness  of  the  present  interests,  either  to 
Great  Britain  or  to  the  United  States,  involved  in  this  con- 


i;    , 

*      4 


PIIESUMPTTON    FROM    POSSESSION. 


143 


cern  ;  and  the  unwillingness,  for  that  reason,  of  tliis  Govern- 
ment, to  include  it  ainonj;  the  objects  of  serious  discussion 
with  them.  At  the  same  time  you  might  give  him  to  under- 
stand, thoiigii  not  unless  in  a  manner  to  avoid  every  thing 
offens'-vc  in  the  suggestion,  that  from  the  nature  of  things,  if 
in  tne  course  of  future  events  it  should  ever  become  an  object 
of  serious  importance  to  the  United  States,  it  can  scarcely  bo 
supposed  that  Great  Britain  would  find  it  useful  or  advisable 
to  resist  their  claim  to  possession  by  systematic  opposition. 
If  the  United  States  leave  her  in  undisturbed  enjoyment  of 
all  her  holds  upon  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  with  all  her 
actual  possessions  in  this  hemisphere,  we  may  very  fairly 
expect,  that  she  will  not  think  it  inconsisteat  with  a  very  wiso 
or  friendly  j)olicy,  to  watch  with  eyes  of  jciilousy  and  alarm 
every  possibility  of  extension  to  our  natuial  dominion  in 
North  America,  which  she  can  have  no  solid  iatorest  to  pre- 
vent, until  all  possibility  of  her  preventing  it  shall  have 
vanished."     (State  Papers,  1821-22,  p.  464.) 

Lord  Castlercagh  in  the  mean  time  had  admitted  to  Mr. 
llu&i\  that  in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  statu  quth  which 
was  the  basis  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  the  United  States  had 
a  right  to  be  reinstated  and  to  he  the  party  in  possession  whilst 
treating  of  tJie  title.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  orders 
were  transmitted  to  the  agents  of  the  North-west  Company 
at  Fort  George,  and  to  the  commodore  of  the  British  naval 
forces  in  the  Pacific,  expressly  in  conformity  to  the  first  article 
of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  to  restore  to  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  through  its  agent,  Mr.  Prevost,  the  settlement 
of  Fort  George  on  the  Columbia  river.  A  formal  surrender  of 
the  post  was,  in  consequence,  made  and  accepted  on  the  6th 
of  October,  1818  ;  but  the  North-west  Company  were  still 
allowed  to  occupy  it  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States, 
pending  the  final  decision  of  the  right  of  sovereignty  between 
the  respective  governments. 

Great  Britain,  in  admitting  the  right  of  the  United  States  to 
be  the  party  in  possession  of  Fort  George  pending  the  discus- 
sion of  the  title  to  it,  attached  the  most  liberal  interpretation 
to  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  and  certainly  gave  to  the  United 
States,  in  all  future  discussions,  the  advantage  of  the  presump- 
tion of  law,  on  the  ground  of  possession,  as  against  Great 
Britain: — "Commodum  possidentis  in  eo  est,  quod  etiamsi 
ejus  res  non  sit,  qui  possidet,  si  modo  actor  non  potuerit  suam 
esse  probare,  reraanet  in  suo  loco  possessio."    But,  beyond 


\  ' 


-t 


I . 


I- 


i' 

« 


!!' 


1 

1 

' 

!  ' 

1  • 

.1   >> 

\ 

'  *i 

' 

'.'f 

; 

' 

», 

1  ''f  ■ 
1 


■/''/ta 


!l 


III. 


I    I  : 


1    li 


ifr'.i 


I      !  ;. 
iiil 


■i!!! 


';^:ailU  !l 


it 


\ 


144 


PROPOSAL    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


this,  nolliing  was  conccdrd.  Doubtless,  in  order  to  oust  the 
United  States,  it  would  now  he  necessary  for  (Jreat  iJritain  to 
make  out  a  j)crroct  and  exclusive  title,  which  she  docs  not  at- 
tempt to  set  up,  but  the  re-occupation  of  the  post  by  the  offi- 
cers  of  the  United  States,  expressly  in  conformity  to  the  Treaty 
of  Ghent,  established  nothing  further  than  the  fact  that  they 
were  in  the  possession  of  it  before  the  war  broke  out. 

In  the  mean  time  negotiations  were  being  carried  on  in 
London  for  the  settlement  of  various  points  at  issue  between 
the  two  governments — including  the  fisheries  ;  the  boundary 
line  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  westwards  ;  the  settlement 
at  the  Columbia  river;  the  indemnification  for  slaves  carried  off 
from  the  United  States ;  and  the  renewal  of  a  treaty  of  com- 
merce. It  would  appear  from  a  letter  addressed  by  Messrs. 
Gallatin  and  Rush  to  Mr.  Adams,  in  October  20,  1818,  that  in 
the  course  of  the  above  negotiations  the  British  commission- 
ers were  altogether  unwilling  to  agree  to  a  boundary  line, 
unless  some  arrangement  was  made  with  respect  to  the  coun- 
try westward  of  the  Stony  Mountains.  "  This  induced  us  to 
propose  an  extension  of  the  boundary  line  [as  drawn  along  tlie 
49th  degree  of  north  latitude,  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to 
the  Stony  Ptiountains,]  due  west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  We 
did  not  assert  that  the  United  States  had  a  perfect  right  to  that 
country^  but  insisted  that  their  claim  was  at  least  good  against 
Great  Britain.  The  4Uth  degree  of  north  latitude  had,  in 
pursuaiice  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  been  fixed  indefinitely  as 
the  line  between  the  northern  British  possessions  and  those  of 
France,  including  Louisiana,  now  a  part  of  our  territories. 
There  was  no  reason  why,  if  the  two  countries  extended  their 
claims  westward,  the  same  line  should  not  bo  continued  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  So  far  as  discovery  gave  a  clann,  ours  to 
the  whole  country  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  River,  was 
indisputable.  It  had  derived  its  name  from  that  of  tho 
American  ship,  commanded  by  Captain  Gray,  who  had  first 
discovered  and  entered  its  mouth.  It  was  first  explored  from 
its  sources  to  the  ocean  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  befoje  the 
British  traders  from  Canada  had  reached  any  of  its  waters ; 
for  it  was  now  ascertained  that  the  river  Tacoutche*Tesse, 
discovered  by  Mackenzie,  and  which  he  had  mistaken  for  tho 
Columbia,  was  not  a  branch  of  that  river,  but  fell  into  the 
sound  called  'the  Gulf  of  Georgia.'  The  settlement  at  the 
place  called  Astoria,  was  also  the  first  permanent  establish- 
ment made  in  that  quarter.    The  British  plenipotentiaries 


)  oust  the 
Jirilain  to 
ocs  not  at- 
y  the  offi. 
Ihe  Treaty 
that  they 
ut. 

lied  on  in 
)  between 
boundary 
settlement 
carried  off 
y  of  corn- 
ly  Messrs. 
18, that  in 
fn  mission  • 
Jary  line, 
the  coun- 
iced  us  to 
along  the 
Woods  to 
an.  We 
jht  to  that 
d  against 
e  had, in 
initely  as 

those  of 
rritories. 
ded  their 
tinued  to 

,  ours  to 

ver,  was 

of  the 
had  first 
red  from 
3foie  the 

waters ; 
e-Tesse, 
1  for  the 

into  the 
;  at  the 

itablish- 
mtjariea 


CONVENTION    OF    1818. 


145 


asserted  that  former  voyaf»c9,  and  principally  that  of  Captain 
Cook,  gave  to  Great  Britain  the  rights  derived  from  discovery, 
and  they  alluded  to  purchases  from  the  natives  south  of  the 
River  Columbia,  which  they  alleged  to  have  been  made  prior 
to  the  American  Revolution.  They  did  not  make  any  formal 
proposition  for  a  boundary,  but  intimated  that  the  river  itself 
was  'ho  most  convenient  that  could  bo  adopted,  and  that  they 
would  not  agree  to  any  that  did  not  give  them  the  harbour  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  common  with  the  United  States." 
[State  Papers,  1819-20,  p.  161).] 

These,  negotiations  were  brought  to  a  close  by  the  Conven- 
tion of  October  20,  1818,  in  which,  however,  nothing  defi- 
nitive 'vas  concluded  in  regard  to  the  settlement  on  the 
Columoia  river.  Bv  the  third  article  it  is  agreed,  that  anv 
such  ccuntry  as  may  be  claimed  by  cither  party  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  on  the  continent  of  America  westward 
of  the  Stony  Mountains,  shall,  together  with  its  harbours, 
bays,  and  creeks,  and  the  naviga*'on  of  all  rivers  within  the 
same,  be  free  and  open,  for  th(  lerm  of  ten  years  from  the 
date  and  signature  of  this  treaty,  to  tho  vessels,  citizens,  and 
subjects  of  the  two  Powers  ;  it  being  well  understood  that 
this  agreement  is  not  to  be  construed  to  the  prejudice  of  any 
claim  which  either  of  the  two  high  contracting  parties  may 
have  to  any  part  of  the  last-mentioned  country,  nor  shall  it 
be  taken  to  affect  the  claims  of  any  other  Power  or  State  to 
any  part  of  the  said  country — the  only  object  of  the  two 
high  contracting  parties  in  that  respect  being  to  prevent  dis- 
putes and  differences  amongst  themselves."  [Ma-tens'  Nou- 
veau  Recueil  do  Traites,  iv.,  p.  575.] 

Thus  much,  however,  may  be  considered  to  have  been  de- 
finitively recognized  by  the  article  just  cited,  that  both  par- 
ties had  claims  to  territory  west  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  but 
not  exclusive  claims  ;  it  being  implied,  by  the  provision  that 
the  agreement  should  not  be  taken  to  affect  the  claims  of 
any  other  Power  or  State  to  any  part  of  the  said  country, 
that  other  Powers  might  likewise  have  claims. 

By  the  previous  article  of  this  treaty,  the  object  of  the  fra- 
mers  of  the  second  article  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  was  at  last 
accomplished.  By  that  article  it  had  been  agreed,  that  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States  should  be  defined  by 
a  line  "  drawn  from  the  most  north-western  point  of  the  Lake 
of  the  Woods  on  a  due  west  cours^c  to  the  River  Mississippi ; 
thence  by  a  lino  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of  tho  said 


•■■ 


^}' 


]'\\ 


■ 

'   '  '              .  '!i 

146 


EXCLUSIVE   CLAIMS   ON   NEITHER  SIDE. 


I  ■  • 


I « 


'f' 


:  I 


1  ., 


:l  ;''!•!" 


Ilh!i-' 


I  i^^^ 


'0 


River  Mississippi,  until  it  shall  intersect  the  northernmost  part 
of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude."  At  the  time, 
then,  when  Gray  crossed  the  bar  of  the  Columbia  river  in 
1792,  and  first  entered  the  estuary  of  that  river,  there  was 
no  question  about  any  title  of  the  United  States  to  territories 
west  of  the  River  Mississippi.  The  boundaries  were  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  east,  and  the  River  Mississippi  on  the 
west. 

The  framers,  however,  of  the  second  article  of  the  Treaty 
of  1783,  were  ignorant  of  the  true  position  of  the  sources  of 
the  Mississippi.  It  was  in  consequence  stipulated  by  the 
fourth  article  of  the  subsequent  Treaty  of  1794,  that  a  "joint 
survey  of  the  river  from  one  degree  below  the  falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  to  the  principal  source  or  sources  of  the  said  river, 
and  of  the  parts  adjacent  thereto,"  should  be  made  ;  and  if, 
on  the  result  of  the  survey,  it  should  appear  that  the  river 
could  not  be  intersected  by  the  above-mentioned  line,  the 
parties  were  to  regulate  the  boundary  line  by  amicable  nego- 
tiation, according  to  justice  and  mutual  convenience,  and  in 
conformity  to  the  intent  of  the  Treaty  of  1783.  This  joint 
survey  never  took  effect.  In  1798,  however,  Mr.  Thomson, 
the  astronomer  of  the  North-west  Company  determined  the 
latitude  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  to  be  in  47°  38',  and 
thus  it  was  definitively  ascertained,  that  no  line  could  be  drawn 
due  west  from  the  north-western  point  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  which  is  in  latitude  49°  37',  so  as  to  meet  the  head- 
waters of  the  Mississippi.  In  consequence,  by  a  convention 
signed  on  the  12th  of  May  1803,  by  Mr.  Rufus  King  and 
Lord  Hawkesbury,  it  was  agreed  that  the  boundary  should  be 
a  line  from  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods 
by  the  shortest  line,  till  it  touched  the  River  Mississippi  [Bri- 
tish and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1819-20,  p.  158.]  It  is  to 
this  treaty  that  President  Jefferson  alludes  in  his  letter  of 
August  1803,  referred  to  by  Mr.  Pakenham,  in  his  letter  of 
September  12,  1844: — "The  boundaries  [of  Louisiana] 
which  I  deem  not  admitting  question,  are  the  high  lands 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi,  inclosing  all  its  waters, 
[the  Missouri  of  course,]  and  terminating  in  the  line  drawn 
from  the  north-west  point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the 
nearest  source  of  the  Mississippi,  as  lately  settled  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States."  This  treaty,  however, 
was  never  ratified,  most  probably  in  consequence  of  the  ces- 
sion of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  by  the  treaty  signed 


1 


SOURCES   OF  THE   MI8SISSIPFI. 


147 


;rnmost  part 
t  the  time, 
ibia  river  in 
r,  there  was 
to  territories 
3s  were  the 
isippi  on  the 

the  Treaty 

e  sources  of 

ited  by  the 

lat  a  "joint 

falls  of  St. 

J  said  river, 

de  ;  and  if, 

lat  the  river 

id  line,  the 

cable  nego- 

ice,  and  in 

This  joint 

.  Thomson, 

crmined  the 

7°  38',  and 

d  be  drawn 

ake  of  the 

the  head' 

convention 

King  and 

y  should  be 

the  Woods 

ssippi  [Bri- 

]     It  is  to 

IS  letter  of 

letter  of 

Louisiana] 

high  lands 

its  waters, 

ine  drawn 

ods  to  the 

I  between 

,  however, 

f  the  ces- 

ity  signed 


at  Paris  on  the  30th  April,  1803  ;  as  this  cession  gave  to  the 
United  States  the  title  which  France  had  re-acquired  from 
Spain,  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Udefonso  in  1800,  to  the  western 
bank  of  the  Mississippi.  In  consequence,  we  find  that  in  a 
convention  concluded  at  London  between  Messrs.  Monroe  and 
Pinckney,  and  the  Lords  Holland  and  Auckland,  in  1806,  it 
was  agreed  by  the  fifth  article,  "  that  a  line  drawn  due  north 
or  south  [as  the  case  may  require,]  from  the  most  north- 
western point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  until  it  shall  inter- 
sect the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  from  the  point  of 
such  intersection  due  west,  along  and  with  the  said  parallel, 
shall  be  the  dividing  line  between  his  Majesty's  territories 
and  those  of  the  United  States,  to  the  westward  of  the  said 
lake,  as  far  as  their  said  respective  territories  extend  in  that 
quarter ;  and  that  the  said  line  shall,  to  that  extent,  form  the 
southern  boundaries  of  his  Majesty's  said  territories,  and  the 
nortiiern  boundary  of  the  said  territories  of  the  United  States  ; 
provided  that  nothing  in  the  present  article  shall  be  construed 
to  extend  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America  or  to  the  terri- 
tories belonging  to  or  claimed  by  either  party  on  the  continent 
of  America  to  the  westward  of  the  Stony  Mountains."  (Mar- 
tens' Recueil  des  Traites,  viii.,  p.  594.) 

This  was  the  first  notice  of  any  claim  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  to  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  :  it 
may  be  presumed  that  the  acquisition  of  the  western  bank  of 
the  Mississippi  formed  the  ostensible  basis  of  her  claim,  as  on 
that  ground  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  had  been 
despatched  in  the  precedin*^  year  to  follow  up  the  Missouri  to 
its  source,  and  thence  to  trace  down  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  the 
most  direct  and  practicable  water-communication  for  the 
purposes  of  commerce.  It  may  be  observed,  that  the  ar- 
rangement contemplated  by  this  fifth  article  was  highly  fa- 
vourable to  the  United  States,  as  their  acquired  title  to 
Louisiana  would  not  strictly  have  entitled  them  to  any  terri- 
tory north  of  the  Mississippi.  This  convention,  however 
was  never  ratified  by  the  United  States,  on  account  of  the 
absence  of  any  provisions  to  restrain  the  impressment  of 
British  sailors  serving  on  board  of  American  ships.  (Schoell, 
llistoire  des  Trailcs  de  Paix,  ch.  40.) 

Mr.  Greenhow,  (p.  2S1,)  in  alluding  to  the  negotiations 
antecedent  to  this  convention,  states  that  Mr.  Monroe,  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  proposed  to  Lord  Harrowby 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  upon  the  grounds  that  this  pa- 


4. 


:\ 


■■A. 
•f  ■ 


\- 


j 


m 


■ 

'-  'h^ 

■      •■4 

'^' 

f 

■    i 

ijli  i* 

.   'V 

! '    ' 

t- 

,t 

'■'  -^l    1 

'l 

,       ,    •■;          ' 

'    ■■#        '] 

1     • 

;■ 

;  j. 

'         «: 

i«ti 


j'iii 


148 


COMMISSIONERS  UNDER  TREATY  OF  UTRECHT. 


rallel  had  been  adopted  and  definitively  settled,  by  commig. 
saries  appointed  agreeably  to  the  tenth  article  of  the  treaty 
concluded  at  Utrecht  in  1713,  as  the  dividing  line  between 
the  French  possessions  of  Western  Canada  and  Louisiana  on 
the  south,  and  the  British  territories  of  Hudson's  Bay  on  the 
north  ;  and  that  this  treaty,  having  been  specially  confirmed 
in  the  Treaty  of  1763,  by  which  Canada  and  the  part  of 
Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  Iberville  were  ceded  to 
Great  Britain,  the  remainder  of  Louisiana  continued  as  before, 
bounded  on  the  north  by  the  49th  parallel."  The  same  fact 
was  alleged  by  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States,  in 
their  negotiations  with  Spain  in  1805,  respecting  the  western 
boundary  of  Louisiana.  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers, 
1817-18,  p.  322.) 

He  further  goes  on  to  state,  that  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe,  that  though  commissioners  »vere  appointed,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  treaty,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the 
boundaries  between  the  French  and  British  possessions,  they 
never  executed  their  task,  and  that  no  line  was  ever  definitely 
adopted  by  the  two  Governments. 

This  opinion  of  Mr.  Greenhow  seems  to  be  fully  supported 
by  the  proofs  and  illustrations  annexed  in  his  Appendix,  but 
his  mode  of  stating  the  substance  of  the  tenth  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  Ulrecht  is  calculated  to  mislead  his  readers  into 
supposing,  that  the  northern  boundary  of  Louisiana  was 
under  discussion  when  that  article  was  signed.  On  the  con- 
trary,  the  words  of  the  article  were  as  follow  : — "  But  it  is 
agreed  on  both  sides,  to  determine  within  a  year,  by  commis- 
saries to  be  forthwith  named  by  each  party,  the  limits  which 
are  to  be  fixed  between  the  said  Bay  of  Hudson  and  the 
places  a-ppertaining  to  the  French;  which  limits  both  the 
British  and  French  subjects  shall  be  wholly  forbid  to  pass 
over,  or  thereby  go  to  each  other  by  sea  or  by  land.  The 
same  commissaries  shall  also  have  orders  to  describe  and 
settle  in  like  manner  the  boundaries  between  the  oilier  British 
and  French  colonies  in  those  parts." 

On  this  article  Mr.  Anderson,  in  his  History  of  Commerce, 
published  in  1801,  vol.  iii.,  p.  50,  observes,  under  the  events 
of  the  year  1713  : — "  Although  the  French  King  yielded  to  tlie 
Queen  of  Great  Britain,  to  be  possessed  by  her  in  full  right 
for  ever,  the  Bay  and  Straits  of  Hudson,  and  all  parts  thereof, 
and  within  the  same,  then  possessed  by  France  ;  yet  the 
leaving  the  boundaries  between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  north 


CUT. 

by  commis. 
f  the  trecaty 
ne  between 
louisiana  on 
Bay  on  the 
y  confirmed 
the  part  of 
ere  ceded  to 
3d  as  before, 
je  same  fact 
1  States,  in 
the  western 
tate  Papers, 

ry  reason  to 
nted,  in  ac- 
rminint;  the 
issions,  they 
er  definitely 

y  supported 
)pendix,  but 
rticle  of  the 
•eaders  into 
lisiana  was 
3n  the  con- 
-"  But  it  is 
by  commis- 
iinits  which 
on  and  the 
ts  both  the 
bid  to  pass 
land.  The 
escribe  and 
Hher  British 

Commerce, 
■  the  events 
elded  to  the 
full  right 
irts  thereof, 
3 ;  yet  the 
if  the  north 


11 


HUDSON  S    BAY    BOUNDARIES. 


149 


'parts  of  Canada,  belonging  to  France,  to  be  determined  by 
commissaries  within  a  year,  was,  in  eflect,  the  same  thing  as 
giving  up  the  point  altogether,  it  being  well  known  to  all 
Europe,  that  France  never  permits  her  commissaries  to 
determine  matters  referred  to  such,  unless  it  can  be  done 
with  great  advantage  to  her.  Those  boundaries  therefore 
have  vrver  yet  been  settled,  although  both  British  and 
French  subjects  are  by  that  article  expressly  debarred  from 
passing  over  the  same,  or  merely  to  go  to  each  other  by  sea 
or  land." 

The  object  of  the  tenth  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht 
was  to  secure  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  the  restoration 
of  the  forts  and  other  possessions  of  which  they  had  been  de- 
prived at  various  times  by  French  expeditions  from  Canada, 
and  of  which  some  had  been  yielded  to  France  by  the  seventh 
article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick.  By  this  latter  treaty  Louis 
XIV.  had  at  last  recognised  William  III.  as  King  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  and  William  in  return  had  consented  that 
'lo  principle  of  ubi  possidetis  should  be  the  basis  of  the  nego- 
;.  ins  between  the  two  crowns.  By  the  tenth  article,  how- 
:•  c:.,  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  French  King  agreed  to 
restore  to  the  Queen  (Anne)  of  Great  Britain,  "  to  be  pos- 
sessed in  full  right  for  ever,  the  Bay  and  Straits  of  Hudson, 
together  with  ail  lands,  seas,  sea  coasts,  rivers  and  places 
situate  in  the  said  bay  and  straits,  and  which  belong  thereto, 
no  tracts  of  land  or  sea  being  excepted,  which  are  at  present 
possessed  by  the  subjects  of  France."  The  only  question 
therefore  for  commissaries  to  settle,  were  the  limits  of  the  Bay 
and  Straits  of  Hudson,  coastwards,  on  the  side  of  the  French 
province  of  Canada,  as  all  the  country  drained  by  streams 
entering  into  the  Bay  and  Straits  of  Hudson  were  by  the 
terms  of  the  treaty  recognised  to  be  part  of  the  possessions  of 
Great  Britain. 

If  the  coast  boundary,  therefore,  was  once  understood  by 
the  parties,  the  head  waters  of  the  streams  that  empty  them- 
selves into  the  Bay  and  Straits  of  Hudson  indicate  the  line 
which  at  once  satisfied  the  other  conditions  of  the  treaty. 
Such  a  line,  if  commenced  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
Straits  of  Hudson,  would  have  swept  along,  through  the 
sources  of  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Lake  Mistassinnie  and 
Abbitibis,  the  Rainy  Lake,  in  48°  30',  which  empties  itself  by 
the  Rainy  River  into  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  the  Red  Lake, 
and  Lake  Travers.     This  last  lake  would  have  been  the  ex- 


1.! 


1' 
i 


■.:n 


ir 

1 

1 

j  1 

\ 

* 

, 

i 

,y-                  ,   j,    ■ 

.1     . 

1 

!■ 

i                 1 

1 

'  '. ' 

''                 ' 

' 

\i 

1 

(  '     .: 


«■ .; ;?: 


If 


■!■    > 


'!! 


I  ill 


■'■!-ti9 


I'-^a 


K  -i 


1  V^^:^!    >y! 


!';.:• 


IP: 


i 


-.  ? 


i''''-: 


l-'- 


IS 


150 


BOUNDARY    TREATIES. 


treine  southern  limit,  in  about  45°  40',  whence  the  line  would 
have  wound  upward  to  the  north-west,  pursuing  a  serpentine 
course,  and  resting  with  its  extremity  upon  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, at  the  southernmost  source  of  the  Saskatchawan  River, 
in  about  the  48th  parallel  of  latitude.  Such  would  have  been 
the  boundary  line  between  the  French  possessions  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay  district ;  and  so  we  find  that,  in  the  limits  of 
Canada,  assigned  by  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  himself,  when 
he  surrendered  the  province  to  Sir  J.  Amher&t,  the  Red  Lake 
is  the  apex  of  the  province  of  Canada,  or  the  point  of  depar- 
ture from  which,  on  the  one  side,  the  line  is  drawn  to  Lake 
Superior ;  on  the  other  "  follows  a  serpentine  course  south- 
ward to  the  river  Ouabache,  or  Wabash,  and  along  it  to  the 
junction  with  the  Ohio."  This  fact  was  insisted  upon  by 
the  British  Government  in  their  answer  to  the  ultimatum  of 
France,  sent  in  on  the  1st  of  September,  1761  ;  and  the  map, 
which  was  presented  on  that  occasion  by  Mr.  Stanley,  the 
British  minister,  embodying  those  limits,  was  assented  to  in 
the  French  Memorial  of  the  9th  of  September.  (Historical 
Memorial  of  the  Negotiations  of  France  and  England  from 
March  26th  to  September  20th,  1761.  Published  at  Paris, 
by  authority.)  By  the  fourth  article,  however,  of  the 
Treaty  of  1763,  Canada  was  ceded  in  full,  with  its  depen- 
dencies, including  the  Illinois ;  and  the  future  line  of  demar- 
cation between  the  territories  of  their  Britannic  and  Christian 
Majesties,  on  the  continent  of  America,  was,  by  the  seventh 
article,  irrevocably  fixed  to  be  drawn  through  the  middle  of 
the  River  Mississippi, yrom  its  source  to  the  river  Iberville, 
and  thence  along  the  middle  of  the  latter  river  and  the  Lakes 
Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain  to  the  sea.  Thenceforward  the 
French  territory  in  North  America  was  confined  to  the 
western  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  this  was  the  Louisiana 
which  was  ceded  by  France  to  Spain  in  1769,  by  virtue  of 
the  treaty  secretly  concluded  in  1762,  but  not  promulgated 
till  1765.  There  would  have  been  no  mistake  as  to  the 
boundaries  of  Louisiana,  Canada,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  ter- 
ritories, as  long  as  they  were  defined  to  be  the  aggregat»)  of 
the  valleys  watered  by  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  Bay  of  Hudson 
respectively.  The  difficulty  in  executing  the  provisions  of 
boundary  treaties  in  America,  has  arisen  chiefly  from  adopt- 
ing the  data  which  incorrect  maps  have  furnished,  to  which 
there  has  been  nothing  in  nq.ture  corresponding,  and  from 


LIMITS    OF    FRENCH    POSSESSIONS. 


151 


agreeing  to  certain  parallels  of  latitude,  as  appearing  from 
those  maps  to  form  good  natural  frontiers,  but  which  have 
beon  found  upon  actual  survey  to  frustrate  the  intentions  of 
both  parties. 

The  relative  positions  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  the 
Red  Lake,  and  the  northernmost  source  of  the  Mississippi, 
were  evidently  not  understood  by  the  parties  to  the  2d  article 
of  the  Treaty  of  1783,  when  it  was  proposed  to  continue  a 
line  from  the  northwestern  point  of  Lake  Superior  through 
the  Long  Lake,  and  thence  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  and 
due  west  to  the  Mississippi.  In  order  to  hit  off  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  was  the  undoubted  purport  of  the 
treaty,  the  line  should  have  been  drawn  from  the  western, 
most  point  of  Lake  Superior  up  the  river  St.  Louis,  and 
thence  it  might  have  been  carried  due  westward  to  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi  in  47°  38'.  No  definite  substitute  was  pro- 
posed in  the  Treaty  of  1794,  which  admitted  the  uncertain 
character  of  the  proposed  frontier  ;  for  even  then  the  country 
had  not  been  surveyed,  and  as  neither  of  the  conventions  of 
1803  nor  1806  was  ratified  by  the  United  States,  nor  could  the 
respective  plenipotentiaries  come  to  any  agreement  on  the 
subject  at  the  negotiation  of  the  Peace  at  Ghent,  the  question 
remained  unsettled,  until  it  was  at  last  arranged  by  the  pro- 
visions of  the  2d  article  of  the  Convention  of  1818,  that  the 
boundary  line  agreed  upon  in  1806  should  be  the  frontier 
westward  as  far  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

If  this  view  be  correct  of  the  boundary  line  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  territory,  as  settled  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  and 
of  the  western  limit  of  Canada,  as  expressed  upon  its  sur- 
render to  Great  Britain,  it  will  be  conclusive  against  the 
opinion  that  the  French  possessions  ever  extended  indefi- 
nitely northwestward  along  the  continent  of  North  Ame- 
rica. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind,  that  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  was 
signed  in  the  interval  between  the  grant  to  Crozat  in  1712 
and  the  charter  of  Law's  Mississippi  Company  in  1717.  By 
the  former  grant  Louisiana  had  been  definitely  limited  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Missouri,  and  before 
the  subsequent  annexation  of  the  Illinois  to  the  province  of 
Louisiana  in  1717,  all  the  territory  watered  by  the  streams 
emptying  themselves  into  the  Bay  of  Hudson  had  been  ac- 
knowledged by  France  to  be  part  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Crown  of  England.     As  then  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories 


i 


,    •: 


r  • 


4''   ' 


fcrn 


It- 

■4- 


^   ;     '  ■ 


152 


NORTHERN    LIMITS    OF  THE    ILLINOIS. 


■   'I* 


■  '   ;,#■■ 


were  implied  by  that  treaty  to  extend  up  to  the  Red  Lake 
and  Lake  Travers,  this  would  definitely  bar  the  French  title 
further  north  ;  but  the  declaration  of  the  French  authorities 
themselves,  on  the  surrender  of  Canada,  that  its  boundary 
rested  upon  the  Red  Lake,  will  still  more  decisively  negative 
the  assertion  that  Louisiana,  after  1717,  extended  "  to  the 
most  northern  limit  of  the  French  possessions  in  North 
America,  and  thereby  west  of  Canada  and  New  France," 
unless  it  can  be  shown  that  the  Illinois  country  extended  to 
the  west  of  the  Red  Lake,  which  was  not  the  fact.  This 
question,  however,  will  be  more  fully  discussed  in  the  next 
chapter. 


11 

I 


111 


III:  ^il! 
il:  .I'l 


153 


Red  Lake 
•"rench  title 

authorities 
s  boundary 
ly  negative 
id  "to  the 

in  North 
V  France," 
xtended  to 
act.  This 
1  the  next 


1 


CHAPTER   XII. 


ON  THE  LIMITS  OF  LOUISIANA. 

Hernando  dc  Soto  discovers  the  Mississippi,  in  li  *^~-  Iritish  Discoveries 
in  1654  and  1670.— French  Expeditions.— Dc  la  Siille,  in  1682.— Set- 
tlement in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  in  1685. — D'Iberville,  in  1698. — 
Charter  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat,  in  1712. — The  Illinois  annexed,  in 
1717,  in  the  Grant  to  Law's  Mississippi  Company — The  Treaty  of 
Paris,  in  1763. — Secret  Treaty  between  France  and  Spain. — Louisiana 
ceded  to  Spain,  in  1769. — Retrocedcd  to  France,  in  181)0,  by  the  secret 
Treaty  of  San  Udcfonso. — Transferred  by  Purchase,  to  the  United 
States,  in  1803. — Discussions  with  Spain  as  to  the  Boundaries  of  Lou- 
isiana.— Grants  by  Charter  only  valid  against  other  Nations  upon  Prin- 
ciples  recognised  by  the  Law  of  Nations. — Western  Boundaries  of  Lou- 
isiana.— Evidence  of  Charters  against  the  Grantors. — Conflict  of  Titles 
between  France  and  England  on  the  Ohio,  between  France  and  Spain 
on  the  Missouri. — Title  of  Great  Britain  by  Treaties. — Extent  of  New 
France  westwardly. — Escarbot's  Histoire  dc  la  Nouvelle  France. — 
Map  of  1757. — Jefferys'  History  of  the  French  Dominions  in  Amer- 
ica.— Questionable  Authority  of  Maps. 

The  Spaniards  are  entitled  to  claim  for  their  countryman 
Hernando  de  Soto  and  his  followers  the  merit  of  having  first 
discovered  the  River  Mississippi.  About  the  same  time  that 
Vasquez  de  Coronado  was  despatched  to  explore  the  district 
which  is  supposed  to  correspond  to  the  modern  province  of 
Sonora,  in  search  of  the  great  city  of  Cibola  and  the  rich 
country  of  Quivira,  the  Viceroy  Mendoza  granted  a  commis- 
sion to  Soto  for  the  discovery  of  Florida,  which  at  that  time 
was  the  general  name  for  the  countries  on  the  northern  shores 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  According  to  the  Spanish  accounts, 
Soto  and  his  followers  succeeded,  in  1542,  in  marching  across 
the  continent  from  Apalache,  to  the  great  river  (Mississippi,) 
and  thence  penetrated  as  far  west  as  the  Rio  Negro.  Soto 
himself,  however,  died  at  Guachoya,  and  his  companions,  hav- 
ing committed  the  body  of  their  leader  in  a  hollow  tree  to  the 
river,  descended  the  Mississippi  in  boats,  and  after  a  series  of 
conflicts  with  the  natives,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  Mexican 
Gulf,  under  the  guidance  of  Luis  de  Moscoso  and  Juan  de 
Afiasco.      Thence  they   continued  their   voyage  westward 


•1  • 


I' 


■t^ 


■ 


fl 


, 


\  ■  :• 


-'.      ' 

.  ?. 

1          «, 

'T 

; 

■  ' 

>           *■ 

lii 


ilip 


V  ■" 


■    ■ 


154 


FRENCH   EXPEDITIONS. 


along  the  coast  until  they  arrived  at  Panuco,  which  was  the 
northernmost  part  of  New  Spu.n,  being  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  sea,  a  little  higher  up  the  river  than  the  modern  Tampico. 
(Herrera,  Decade  iv.,  eh.  vii.  and  x.,  British  and  Foreign 
State  Papers,  1817-18,  p.  427.) 

The  Spaniards,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have  availed 
themselves  of  this  discovery  of  '^o  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
for  the  purpose  of  settlement.  On  the  other  hand,  the  north- 
ern branches  of  the  river  appear  to  have  been  first  explored 
by  subjects  of  other  powers  than  Spain,  in  the  latter  portion 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  277)  has 
inserted  an  extract  from  JefTerys'  History  of  tho  French  Do- 
minions in  America,  published  in  1754,  to  the  eifect  that  "  the 
Mississippi,  the  chief  of  all  the  rivers  of  Louisiana,  which  it 
divides  almost  into  two  equal  parts,  was  discovered  by  Colo- 
nel Wood,  who  spent  almost  ten  years,  or  from  1654  to  IP"*, 
in  searching  its  source,  as  also  by  Captain  Bolt,  in  1  „ .  ." 
No  further  particulars  are  given  by  JefTerys,  but  it  may  be 
observed  that  both  the  above  persons  were  British  subjects. 

In  the  year  1678,  the  French  Government  determined  upon 
an  expedition  to  explore  the  western  parts  of  New  France, 
and  to  discover,  if  possible,  a  road  to  penetrate  to  the  Spanish 
possessions  in  Mexico.  In  consequence,  Louis  XIV.  issued 
letters  patent  to  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle,  to  authorise  him  to  ex- 
ecute this  enterprise,  which  he  commenced  towards  the  end 
of  the  following  year.  It  was  not,  however,  till  February 
1682,  that  he  reached  the  river  Colbert  or  Mississippi,  by  fol- 
lowing the  course  of  the  Illinois  River.  His  voyage  down  the 
Mississippi  was  accomplished  by  the  7th  of  April  following, 
and  on  the  9th,  La  Salle  took  formal  possession,  in  the  name 
of  the  French  monarch,  "  of  the  country  of  Louisiana,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St.  Louis,  otherwise  called  Ohio, 
on  the  eastern  side,  and  also  above  the  River  Colbert  or  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  rivers  which  discharge  themselves  into  it, 
from  its  source  in  the  country  of  the  Kious  or  Nadiouessious, 
as  far  as  its  mouth  at  the  sea,  or  Gulf  of  Mexico ;"  and  "  up- 
on the  assurance  which  they  had  received  from  all  the  natives 
through  whose  country  they  had  passed,  that  they  were  the 
first  Europeans  who  had  descended  or  ascended  the  said  river 
Colbert,  they  hereby  protested  against  all  those  who  may  in 
future  undertake  to  invade  any  or  all  of  these  countries,  peo- 
ple, or  lands  above  described,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  right  of 
his  Majesty,  acquired  by  the  consent  of  the  nations  herein 
named." 


v\l'!':!^!li'  ' 


it 


CROZAT  S    GRANT. 


165 


ch  was  the 
!W  miles  of 
I  Tampico. 
id   Foreign 

ve  availed 
Mississippi 
,  the  north- 
it  explored 
ter  portion 
277)  has 
^rench  Do- 
that  "  the 
a,  which  it 
J  by  CoJo- 
•4  to  lfi^% 
in   1„.   ." 
it  may  bo 
ubjects. 
ninedupon 
w  France, 
le  Spanish 
[V.  issued 
lim  to  ex- 
Is  the  end 
February 
pi,  by  fol. 
down  the 
following, 
the  name 
ana,  from 
led  Ohio, 
"t  or  Mis- 

into  it, 
>uessious, 
and  "  up- 
le  natives 
were  the 
said  river 

may  in 
ries,  peo- 
3  right  of 
IS  herein 


The  proc^s-verbal  drawn  up  on  this  occasion,  of  which  the 
above  is  an  extract,  which  is  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the 
Department  of  the  Marine  at  Paris,  was  first  published  by  Mr. 
Jared  Sparks  of  Boston,  the  well-known  author  of  the  Life  of 
Washington,  and  may  be  found  most  readily  in  Mr.  Falconer's 
able  treatiseon  the  discovery  of  the  Mississippi.  La  Salle,  on  his 
return  to  France,  obtained  authority  to  form  a  colony  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  but  in  his  voyage  outwards  he  miscal- 
culated his  course,  and  reached  the  coast  far  to  the  westward  of 
that  river.  Here  indeed,  in  1685,  he  established  a  settlement  in 
the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  called  by  him  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis, 
which  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  Matagorda  Bay,  by 
others  to  have  been  the  Bay  of  Espiritu  Santo.  This  colony 
met  with  great  disasters  ;  but  the  French  Government  did  not 
abandon  its  object,  and  in  1698  we  find  that  the  illustrious 
Canadian  d'Iberville  entered  the  Mississippi,  and  established 
a  settlement  at  about  one  hundred  leagues  from  its  mouth. 
Before  1710,  many  French  settlements  had  been  made  on  the 
banks  of  the  great  river,  but  it  was  not  until  1712  that  a  royal 
charter  was  granted  by  the  French  King  to  Antoine  Crozat, 
which  is  the  earliest  document  relied  upon  to  establish  the 
limits  of  Louisiana,  and  which  Mr,  Greenhow  has  inserted  in 
his  work,  (p.  277.) 

"  Nous  avons  par  ces  prcsentes,  signcs  de  notrc  main,  eta- 
bli,  et  etablissons  ledit  Sieur  Crozat,  pour  faire  seul  le  com- 
merce dans  toutes  les  terres  par  nous  possedoes,  et  bornces 
par  le  Nouveau  Mexique,  et  par  celles  des  Anglais  de  la  Caro- 
line, tous  les  etablissemens,  forts,  havres,  rivieres,  et  princi- 
palement  le  port  et  havre  de  I'isle  Dauphine,  appellee  autrefois 
de  Massacre,  le  fleuve  St.  Louis,  autrefois  appellee  Mississippy, 
depuis  le  bord  de  la  mer  jusqu'aux  Illinois,  ensem.ble  les  rivi- 
eres St.  Philippe,  autrefois  appellee  des  Missourys,  et  St. 
Hierosme,  autrefois  appellee  Ouabache,  avec  tous  les  pays, 
contrces,  lacs  dans  les  terres,  et  les  rivieres  qui  tombent  di- 
rectement  ou  indirectement  dans  cetto  par^ie  du  fleuve  St. 
Louis.  Voulons  que  les  dites  terres,  contrees,  fleuves,  rivi- 
eres et  isles,  soient  et  demeurent  compris  sous  le  nom  du 
gouvernement  de  la  Louisiane,  qui  sera  dependant  du  gou- 
vernement  general  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  auquel  il  tiemeurera 
subordonne  ;  et  voulons  en  outre  que  toiUes  les  terres  que  nous 
possedons,  depuis  les  Illinois,  soient  reunis,  en  tant  que  besoin 
est,  au  gouvernement  general  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  et  en 
fassenl  partie  :    nous  reservant  neanmoins  d'augmenter,  si 


•  I 


■  > 


150 


4     i 


LAW  a   MISSISSIPPI    COMPANY. 


I  .       ■' 


*   .  t 


■II 


M 


nous  le  jiigeons  a-propo?,  I't'tenduo  du  gouvernement  du  dit 
jtays  de  Loitisiam." 

Louisiana,  it  will  bo  thus  seen,  according  to  this  nuthorita* 
live  document  of  the  French  crown,  was  the  country  water- 
ed by  the  Mississippi,  and  its  tributary  streams  from  the  sea- 
shore to  the  Illinois  :  such  was  the  limitation  affixed  to  the 
province  by  the  French  themselves  ;  and,  by  the  same  pub- 
lic instrument,  all  the  rest  of  the  French  possessions  were 
united  under  the  government  of  New  Franco.  It  is  true  that 
the  Illinois  was  subsequently  annexed  to  Louisiana  by  a  royal 
decree  in  1717,  after  Crozat  had  relinquished  his  charter,  and 
the  whole  region  was  granted  to  Law's  Mississippi  Company  ; 
but  the  Illinois  were  still  spoken  of  as  the  Illinois,  and  the 
district  was  not  merged  in  Louisiana,  though  it  was  annexed 
to  that  province,  to  give  the  company  access  to  Canada,  in 
which  the  monopoly  of  the  beaver-trade  had  been  granted  to 
them.  It  has  been  already  observed,  that  the  limits  of  the 
Hudson's  Buy  territories  and  French  Canada  were  settled  by 
the  peace  of  tltrecht,  in  1713  :  one  great  object  of  that  treaty 
was  to  provide  against  the  commercial  disputes  of  the  subjects 
of  the  two  crowns,  which  had  led  to  a  series  of  conflicts  on 
the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  ;  it  was  in  furtherance  of  this  ob- 
ject that  the  fur-trade  of  Canada  was  now  diverted  from  the 
St.  Lawrence  to  the  Mississippi,  by  this  grant  of  the  monopoly 
of  the  beaver-trade  to  the  Compag^e  d'Occident,  and  the  an- 
nexation of  the  Illinois  country  to  Louisiana. 

Upon  the  surrender  of  Canada  to  the  British  arms,  consid- 
erable  discussion  arose  as  to  the  respective  limits  of  tho  pro- 
vinces of  Canada  and  Louisiana.  The  British  Government 
insisted,  as  already  stated,  p.  150,  or  i  line  which  would  take 
in  the  river  Ouabache,  as  far  as  its  junction  with  the  Ohio ; 
and  from  thence  along  the  Ohio  to  the  Mississippi,  the  country 
to  the  south  of  the  Ohio  being  at  this  time  either  Briiish  pos- 
sessions, as  part  of  Virginia,  or  occupied  by  Indian  tribes.  In 
the  course  of  these  negotiations,  'he  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil, 
who  signed  the  surrender,  published  his  own  account  of  what 
passed  between  Sir  J.  Amherst  and  himself,  of  which  he  con- 
sidered the  English  account  to  be  incorrect.  "  On  the  officer 
showing  me  a  map  which  he  had  in  his  hand,  I  told  him  the 
limits  were  not  just,  and  verbally  mentioned  others,  extend- 
ing Louisiana  on  one  side  to  the  carrying-place  of  the  Miamis, 
which  is  the  height  of  the  lands  whose  rivers  run  in  the  Oua- 
bache ;  and  on  the  other  to  the  head  of  the  river  of  the  Illi- 


'1!  ' 


VALIDITY     or    CIIARTCU3. 


157 


ent  du  dit 

authorita- 
ry  watcr- 
1  the  sea- 
cd  to  the 
lamo  pub- 
ons   were 
I  true  that 
)y  a  royal 
irter,  and 
ompany  ; 
)  and  the 
annexed 
inada,  in 
ranted  to 
ts  of  the 
settled  by 
at  treaty 
I  subjects 
itlicts  on 
>f  this  ob- 
from  the 
lonopoly 
1  the  an- 

consid> 
th-i  pro- 
ernment 
mid  take 
5  Ohio ; 
country 
iish  pos- 
ibes.  In 
ludreuil, 
of  what 
he  con- 
e  officer 
him  the 
extend- 
[Vfiamis, 
le  Oua- 
he  IllU 


>» 


ixois."  [Annual  Register,  1761,  p.  2G8.]  Kvcn  thus,  then, 
all  to  the  north  of  the  Illinois  was  admitted  to  be  Canada. 
However,  the  French  Government,  in  its  memorial  of  the  9lh 
iScptembcr,  1761,  "  agreed  to  cede  Canada  in  the  most  am- 
ple manner,  and  to  admit  the  line  on  which  England  rested 
her  demand,  as,  without  doubt,  the  most  extensive  bound 
which  can  be  given  to  the  cession."  In  accordance  with  this 
we  find  that,  by  the  seventh  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris, 
the  French  possessions  were  declared  to  be  thenceforth  limit- 
ed by  the  mid-channel  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its  source  to  the 
River  Iberville. 

The  Treaty  of  Pans,  however,  has  not  furnished  the  only 
occasion  upon  which  intricate  discussions  have  arisen  re- 
specting the  limits  of  Louisiana.  By  a  secret  treaty  with 
Spain,  made  in  1762,  but  not  signed  till  1764,  France  ceded 
to  her  all  the  country  known  under  the  name  of  Louisiana. 
This  transfer,  however,  was  not  promulgated  till  1765,  two 
years  after  the  Treaty  of  Paris  had  been  signed  by  France, 
Spain,  and  Great  Britain  ;  nor  did  the  Spaniards  obtain  pos- 
session of  the  country  till  1769.  From  that  time  Spain  re- 
tained it  till  1800,  when  she  retroceded  it  to  France  by  the 
secret  Treaty  of  San  Ildcfonso,  in  exchange  for  an  augmen- 
tation of  the  territories  of  the  Duke  of  Parma  in  Italy. 
France,  having  thus  been  reinstated  in  possession  of  her  an- 
cient province,  found  she  had  unexpectedly  given  alarm  and 
umbrage  to  the  United  States  of  America,  and,  in  order  to 
detach  them  from  their  disposition  to  unite  with  Great  Britain, 
ceded  it  in  full  to  the  United  States,  in  1803,  for  the  sum  of 
sixty  thousand  francs.  This  led  to  a  protracted  negotiation 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  as  to  the  limits  of  Lou- 
isiana, on  the  side  both  of  Florida  and  Mexico  respectively  ; 
which,  though  commenced  in  1805,  was  not  concluded  till 
1818.  The  claims  of  the  two  states  are  discussed  in  full, 
in  a  correspondence  which  may  be  found  in  the  British  and 
Foreign  State  Papers  for  1817-18,  and  1819-20. 

The  United  States,  in  the  course  of  these  discussions,  in- 
sisted upon  the  limits  marked  out  in  the  letters  patent  which 
Louis  XIV.  had  granted  to  Crozat,  on  the  authority  of  the 
discovery  made,  and  of  the  possession  taken,  by  Father  Hen- 
nepin in  1680,  and  by  La  Salle  in  1682.  Thus  the  validity 
of  the  title  conveyed  by  the  letters  patent  was  sought  to  be 
grounded  by  the  United  States  upon  principles  recognised  by 
the  law  of  nations.     Charters,  bv  their  own  intrinsic  force, 

8 


4 


\'' 


^ 


163 


WK-STERN    LIMITS    OP    LOl'ISfANA. 


I  •. 


,<   ;,> 


can  only  hind  those  who  arc  sul)jcct  to  Iho  authority  from 
which  they  emanate  :  against  the  snhjccts  of  other  states  they 
can  only  avail  on  the  supposition  that  the  title  of  the  grantor 
is  valid  hy  the  law  of  nations.  Thus  the  charter  given  hy 
Charles  II.  to  the  Hudson's  JJay  Cornpanvi  granted  to  them, 
hy  virtue  ofthr.  discoveries  made  in  those  parts,  all  the  lands, 
&c.,  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly  called  Hud- 
son's Straits,  "  which  are  not  now  (tcfualh/  possessed  hy  any 
of  our  suhjccts,  or  by  the  subjecis  of  aiit/  other  Christian  Prince 
or  State  ;"  and  thus  we  find  in  the  negotiations  antecedent  to 
the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  it  was  expressly  urged  in  support  of 
the  British  title  to  the  territories  of  Hudson's  Bay,  "  that 
Mens.  Frontenac,  then  Governor  of  Canada,  did  not  complain 
of  any  pretended  injury  done  to  France  hy  the  said  Compa- 
ny's settling  a  trade  and  huilding  of  forts  at  the  bottom  of 
Hudson's  Bay,  nor  made  pretensions  to  any  right  of  Franco 
to  that  bay,  till  long  after  that  time."  [Anderson's  History  of 
Commerce,  a.  d.  1(570,  vol.  ii.,  p.  516. J  Jn  other  words,  the 
title  which  this  charter  created  was  good  against  other  sub- 
jects of  the  British  Crown,  by  virtue  of  the  charter  itself;  but 
its  validity  against  other  nations  rested  on  the  principle  that 
the  country  was  discovered  by  British  subjects,  and,  at  the 
time  of  their  settlement,  was  not  occupied  by  the  subjects  of 
any  other  Christian  prince  or  state  ;  and  in  respect  to  any 
special  claim  on  the  part  of  France,  the  non-interference  of 
the  French  governor  was  successfully  urged  against  that 
Power  as  conclusive  of  her  acquiescence. 

That  the  province  of  Louisiana  did  not  at  any  time  extend 
further  north  than  the  source  of  the  Mississippi,  either  if 
we  regard  the  evidence  of  public  instruments  in  the  form  of 
charters  and  treaties,  or  of  historical  facts,  is  most  assuredly 
beyond  the  reach  of  argument.  What,  however,  were  the 
western  limits  of  the  province,  has  not  been  so  authoritatively 
determined.  Mr.  Greenhow,  (p.  283,)  after  examining  this 
question,  concludes  thus : — "  In  the  absence  of  more  direct 
light  on  the  subject  from  history,  we  are  forced  to  regard  the 
boundaries  indicated  by  nature — namely,  the  highlands  sepa- 
rating the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  from  those  flowing  into 
the  Pacific  or  Californian  gulf — as  the  true  western  bounda- 
ries of  the  Louisiana  ceded  by  France  to  Spain  in  1762,  and 
retroceded  to  France  in  180(',  and  transferred  to  the  United 
States  by  France  in  1803  :  but  then  it  must  also  be  admitted, 
for  tho  same  as  well  as  for  another  and  stronger  reason,  that 


ilhority  from 
cr  states  tliey 
''  the  «^rantor 
rter  given  hy 
itcd  to  then), 
all  the  lands, 
y  called  Hud- 
rssed  by  any 
islian  Prince 
mtecedent  to 
n  support  of 

Bay,  "  that 
not  complain 
said  Coin  pa. 
ic  bottom  of 
t  of  Franco 
I's  History  of 
r  words,  the 

other  sub- 
r  itself;  but 
'inciple  that 
and,  at  the^ 
subjects  of 
)cct  to  any 
rfcreiice  of 
gainst    that 

line  extend 
either    if 
lie  form  of 
t  assuredly 
were  the 
loritatively 
nining  this 
lore  direct 
regard  the 
ands  scpa- 
)wing  into 
n  boiinda- 
1762,  and 
le   United 
admitted, 
SOP,  that 


i 


CONFLICT   OF   TITLES. 


150 


the  nritish  possessions  further  north  were  bounded  on  tho 
coast  by  the  same  chain  of  highlands;  for  tho  charter  of  tho 
Hudson's  Hay  Company,  on  which  the  right  to  those  posses- 
sions was  founded  and  maintained,  expressly  included  only 
tho  countries  traversed  by  tho  streams  emptying  thcrasclves 
into  Hudson's  Bay." 

Charters  may  certainly  be  appealed  to  as  evidence  against 
the  parties  which  have  granted  them,  that  on  their  own  ad- 
mission  they  do  not  extend  their  claim  beyond  the  limits  of 
them,  and  Mr.  Greenhow  is  perfectly  justified  in  confining 
the  limits  of  Rupert's  Land,  for  such  seems  to  have  been  tho 
name  recognised  in  the  charter,  to  the  plani.:tion  in  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  the  countries  traversed  by  the  streams  emptying 
themselves  into  the  Bay  ;  but  the  right  to  those  posse  isions, 
as  against  France,  was  not  founded  upon  the  cha  or,  but 
generally  upon  recognised  principles  of  international  law,  and 
especially  upon  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht.  So  in  respect  to  i:o 
northern  limit  of  Louisiana,  Crozat's  grant,  or  tlu  /rant  to 
Law's  Mississippi  Company,  might  be  alleged  again.l  iVancc, 
to  show  that  its  limits  did  not  extend  further  nonh,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  than  the  Illinois.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Treaty  of  Paris  might  be  appealed  to,  in  order  to 
show  against  Great  Britain,  that  it  did  extend  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  north  as  the  sourcrs  of  that 
river.  Again,  in  respect  to  the  western  boundary  of  Louis- 
iana, Crozat's  grant  might  be  cited  against  France,  to  show 
that  the  province  of  Louisiana  did  not  extend  further  west- 
ward than  the  confines  of  New  Mexico.  What,  however,  was 
the  boundary  of  New  Mexico,  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
determined  by  any  treaty  between  Franc  r.nd  Spain.  France 
seems,  indeed,  from  the  words  of  Crozai\:>  ji^rant,  to  have  con- 
sidered herself  exclusively  entitled  to  the  Missouri  river  on 
the  right  bank,  and  to  the  Ohio  on  the  left.  The  claims, 
however,  of  Great  Britain,  clashed  with  her  on  the  banks  of 
the  Ohio,  as  remarked  by  Mr.  Calhoun  in  his  letter  to  Mr. 
Packenham  of  Sept.  3,  1844.  In  an  analogous  manner  the 
Spanish  title  conflicted  with  the  French  title  on  the  banks  of 
the  Missouri ;  for  we  find  that,  in  the  negotiations  antecedent 
to  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  in  1819,  the  Spanish  commis- 
sioner maintained,  that  after  Santa  Fc,  the  capital  of  New 
Mexico,  was  built,  Spain  considered  all  the  territory  lying  to 
the  east  and  north  of  New  Mexico,  so  far  as  the  Mississippi 
and  Missouri,  to  be  her  property,     [British  and  Foreign  State 


. 


160 


JEFFERTS     HISTOKY. 


!      ' 


i' 


! 


liii'lft 


I' 


u-v- 


Ikii/; 


'    '' 

1  ■■■■■ 

i 
1 

Papers,  1817-18,  p.  438.]  The  United  States,  indeed,  on 
succeeding  to  the  French  title,  declined  to  admit  that  the 
Spanish  frontier  ever  extended  so  far  to  the  north-east  as  was 
alleged  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  letter  of  President  Jefferson, 
of  August  1803,  shows  that  they  considered  their  own  claims 
to  be  limited  by  "the  high  lands  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  enclosing  all  its  waters,  [the  Missouri  of  course."] 

By  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  British  possessions  to  the 
north-west  of  Canada  were  acknowledged  to  extend  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  rivers  emptying  themselves  into  the  bay  of 
Hudson  :  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  they  were  united  to  the  Brit- 
ish possessions  on  the  Atlantic  by  the  cession  of  Canada  and 
all  her  dependencies ;  and  France  contracted  her  dominions 
within  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  That  France  did 
not  retain  any  territory  after  this  treaty  to  the  north-west  of 
the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  will  be  obvious,  when  it  is  kept 
in  mind  that  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  are  in  47°  35', 
whilst  the  sources  of  the  Red  River,  which  flows  through  Lake 
Winnipeg,  and  ultimately  finds  its  way  by  the  Nelson  River 
into  the  bay  of  Hudson,  are  in  Lake  Travers,  in  about  45°  40'. 

Some  writers  are  disposed  to  consider  that  the  limits  of 
New  France  extended  westwardly  across  the  entire  continent 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  but  no  authoritative  document  has  been 
cited  to  show  that  the  French  Crown  ever  claimed  such  an 
extent  of  unknown  territory,  or  that  its  claim  was  ever  ad- 
mitted. Eiicarbot's  description,  in  1617,  of  New  France, 
which,  however,  is  of  no  authority,  embraces  within  its  limits 
almost  the  entire  continent  of  North  America,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  extract  from  his  "  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France," 
which  M.  Duflot  de  Mofras  gives:  "Ainsi  nostre  Nouvelle 
France  a  pour  limites  du  cote  d'ouest  les  terres  jusqu'a  la  mer 
dite  Pacifique  en  deqa  du  tropique  du  Cancer  ;  au  midi ,  les 
cotes  de  la  mer  Atlantique  du  cote  de  Cube  et  de  I'Isle  Hes- 
pagnole  ;  au  levant,  la  mer  du  Nord  qui  baigne  la  Nouvelle 
France  ;  et  au  septentrion,  cette  terre  qui  est  dite  inconnue, 
vers  la  mer  glacee  jusqu'au  pole  arctique." 

The  same  author  cites  a  map  of  the  year  1757,  as  confirma- 
tory of  this  V  iew,  in  which  a  great  river  is  exhibited  in  45°,  on 
the  north-west  coast  of  America,  the  direction  of  which  is 
exactly  that  of  the  Columbia ;  but  Mr.  Greenhow,  in  the  nc.v 
edition  of  his  work,  p.  159,  states,  that  this  map  was  drawn 
and  presented  by  the  French  commissaries  appointed  under 
the  Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1748,  to  expose  theextrava- 


i 

PI 


AUTHORITY   OF   MAPS. 


161 


ndeed,  on 

t  that  the 

Lst  as  was 

Jefferson, 

vn  claims 

ide  of  the 

course."] 

)ns  to  the 

id  to  the 

he  bay  of 

•  the  Brit- 

inada  and 

iominions 

ranee  did 

;h.west  of 

it  is  kept 

47°  35', 

ugh  Lake 

son  River 

It  45°  40'. 

limits  of 

continent 

has  been 

such  an 

ever  ad- 

France, 

its  limits 

be  seen 

France," 

Nouvelle 

a  la  mer 

midi ,  les 

[sle  Hes- 

Nouvelle 

iconnue, 

onfirma- 
1  45°,  on 
which  is 


t 


he  nc'.v 
drawn 
ed  under 
extrava- 


gant  pretensions  of  the  British  in  North  America,  and  that  it  docs 
not  contain  the  word  Canada,  or  Nouvelle  France,or  any  other 
sign  of  French  dominion,  the  whole  division  of  the  continent, 
between  48°  and  31°  north  latitude,  being  represented  by 
strong  lines  and  express  notes,  as  included  in  the  limits  of  the 
British  provinces  ;  nor  does  it  show  any  large  river  falling  in- 
to the  Pacific  north  of  the  peninsula  of  California,  nor  any 
river  entering  that  ocean  north  of  36°.  A  map  perhaps  bet- 
ter authenticated  than  this  may  be  referred  to  in  the  History 
of  the  French  Dominions  in  America,  by  Jefferys,  the  geo- 
grapher to  the  King  of  England,  in  1760,  which  does  not,  in- 
deed, extend  New  France  to  the  Pacific  :  on  the  contrary, 
whilst  it  exhibits  the  River  of  the  West  flowing  in  a  course 
not  unlike  that  of  the  Columbia,  it  does  not  include  the  Paci- 
fic Ocean  at  all  in  its  limits,  but  leaves  the  west  coast  of  the 
continent  in  its  real  obscurity. 

Maps,  however,  are  but  pictorial  representations  of  suppos- 
ed territorial  limits,  the  evidence  of  which  must  be  sought  for 
elsewhere.  There  may  be  cases,  it  is  true,  where  maps  may 
be  evidence  ;  when,  for  instance,  it  has  been  specially  provid- 
ed that  a  particular  map,  such  as  Melish's  Map  of  North 
America,  shall  be  the  basis  of  a  convention  :  but  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  maps  of  unsurveyed  districts  should  ever  have 
been  introduced  into  diplomatic  discussions,  where  limits  con- 
formable to  convenient  physical  outlines,  such  as  headlands 
or  water-courses,  are  really  sought  for,  and  are  understood  to 
be  the  subject  of  negotiation.  The  pictorial  features  of  a 
country,  which,  in  such  cases,  have  been  frequently  assumed 
as  the  basis  of  the  negotiation,  have  not  unusually  caused 
greater  embarrassment  to  both  the  parties  in  the  subsequent 
attempt  to  reconcile  them  with  the  natural  features,  than  the 
original  question  in  dispute,  to  which  they  were  supposed  to 
have  furnished  a  solution.  That  the  name  of  Nouvelle  France 
should  have  been  applied  by  French  authors  and  in  French  maps 
to  the  country  as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was 
as  much  to  be  expected  as  that  the  name  of  California  should 
have  been  extended  by  the  Spaniards  to  the  entire  north-west 
coast  of  America,  which  we  know  to  have  been  the  fact,  from 
the  negotiations  in  the  Nootka  Sound  controversy. 


^  f'l 


J 

162 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


*  1 1 


i\ 


\  t 


».'•■ 


i 


'. 


!.« 


TREATY  OF  WASHINGTON. 

The  Treaty  of  San  Ildefonso. — Ineffectual  Negotiations  between  Spain 
and  the  United  States,  in  1805,  respecting  the  Boundary  of  Louisiana. 
— Resumed  in  1817. — IvI.  Kcrlet's  Memoir  cited  by  Spain,  Crozat's 
Charter  by  the  United  States,  as  Evidence. — Spain  proposes  the  Mis- 
souri as  the  mutual  Boundary. — The  United  States  propose  to  cross 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  draw  the  Line  from  the  Snow  Mountains 
along  41°  to  the  Pacific. — Negotiations  broken  off. — Spain  proposes 
the  Columbia  River  as  the  Frontier. — Offers  the  Parallel  of  41°  to  the 
Multnomah,  and  along  that  River  to  the  Sea. — Error  in  Melish's  Map. 
— The  United  States  propose  the  Parallel  of  41°  to  the  Pacific. — Spain 
proposes  the  Parallel  of  42°  to  the  Multnomah,  and  along  that  River  to 
43°,  thence  to  the  Pacific— The  42°  Parallel  adopted.— Source  of  the 
Multnomah  or  Willamette  River,  in  about  44°. — Wilkes'  exploring  Ex- 
pedition — Third  Article  of  the  Treaty. — The  asserted  Rights  of  Spain 
to  the  Californias. — Her  Title  by  Discovery. — The  United  States  de. 
cline  to  discuss  them. — The  asserted  Rights  of  the  United  States  to  the 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi. — Mr.  Greenhow's  Remarks. — The  Spanish 
Commissioner  declines  to  negotiate. — Design  of  the  President  of  tho 
United  States. — Question  of  Rights  abandoned. — Object  of  the  Spanish 
Concessions. — Santa  F^. — Ultimate  Agreement  — Review  of  the  Claims 
of  the  two  Partiesv — Principles  of  international  Law  advanced  by  the 
United  States. — Possession  of  the  Sea. coast  entitles  to  Possession  of  tho 
interior  Country. — Vattel. — Inconsistency  of  the  Diplomatists  of  the 
United  States. — Treaty  of  Paris. — Natural  Boundary  of  conterminous 
Settlements,  the  Mid-distance. — Vattel. — Whcaton. — Acquisition  of 
Title  from  Natives  barred  by  first  Settlers  against  other  European  Pow- 
ers.— Right  of  Pre-emption. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  Convention  of  1818  was  con- 
cluded at  London  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, negotiations  were  being  carried  on  at  Wa.shington  be- 
tween Spain  n  nd  the  United  States,  with  the  view  of  deter- 
mining the  effects  of  the  Treaty  of  1803,  whereby  Louisiana 
had  been  ceded  by  France  to  the  latter  power.  It  had  been 
stipulated  in  the  treaty  of  San  Ildefonso  in  1800,  that  Spain 
should  retrocede  *'  the  colony  or  province  of  Louisiana,  with 
the  same  extent  which  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and 
which  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as  it  ought 
to  be  according  to  the  treaties  subsequently  made  between 
Spain  and  other  powers."     (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers, 


< 


SPAIN    AND    THE    UNITED    STATES. 


163 


Lwcen  Spain 
>f  Louisiana, 
iin,  Crozat's 
cs  the  ]\Iis. 
losc  to  cross 
■  Mountains 
a  in  proposes 
'f41°  totho 
elish's  Map. 
ific. — Spain 
lat  River  to 
ource  of  the 
ploring  Ex- 
hts  of  Spain 

States  de- 
States  to  the 
'he  Spanish 
dent  of  tho 
the  Spanish 

the  Claims 
;ed  by  the 
?sion  of  the 
tists  of  the 
nterminous 
[uisition  of 
pean  Pow- 


was  con- 
reat  Bri- 
gton  be- 
of  deter- 
ouisiana 
lad  been 
at  Spain 
na,  with 
•ain,  and 

it  ought 
between 

Papers, 


1S17-18,  p.  267-.n.)  The  Treaty  of  1S03  in  i(s  turn  ceded 
Louisiana  to  tl  o  »  nitcd  States,  "in  the  name  of  the  French 
republic,  for  ever  and  in  full  sovereignty,  with  all  its  rights  and 
appurtenances,  as  fully  and  in  the  same  manner  as  they  have 
been  acquired  by  the  French  republic,  in  virtue  of  the  above- 
mentioned  treaty  with  his  Catholic  Majesty."  It  thus  became 
requisite  to  determine  the  limits  of  this  new  acquisition  of  the 
United  States,  both  on  the  side  of  the  Floridas,  and  on  that  of 
New  Spain.  An  examination  of  the  discussion  regarding  the 
eastern  boundary  towards  the  Floridas  is  unnecessary  on  tho 
present  occasion.  The  question  respecting  the  western  limit 
was,  perhaps,  the  more  difficult  to  settle,  from  the  circum- 
stance that  Texas  was  claimed  by  Spain  as  a  province  of 
New  Spain,  whilst  the  United  States  insisted  that  it  was  a  por- 
tion of  Louisiana  :  whilst  Spain  contended  that  she  had  only 
ceded  the  Spanish  province  of  Louisiana,  the  United  States 
maintained  that  she  had  retroceded  the  French  colony.  Spain 
thereupon  proposed  a  line  which,  "  beginning  at  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  between  the  River  Carecut  or  Cascasiu,  and  the  Ar- 
menta  or  Marraentoa,  should  go  to  the  north,  passing  between 
Adaes  and  Natchitoches,  until  it  cuts  the  Red  River,"  on  the 
ground  that  the  Arroyo-Hondo,  which  is  midway  between 
Natchitoches  and  Adaes,  had  been,  in  fact,  considered  to  be 
the  boundary  in  1763.  The  United  States  on  the  other  hand, 
insisted  on  the  Rio  Bravo  del  Norte  as  the  western  frontier, 
on  the  ground  that  the  settlement  of  La  Salle  in  the  Bay  of 
St.  Bernard  (Matagorda)  carried  with  it  a  right  to  the  territory 
as  far  as  the  Rio  Bravo.  Beyond  the  Red  River  Spain  pro- 
posed that  the  boundary  should  be  determined  by  commission- 
ers, after  a  survey  of  the  territory,  then  but  little  known,  and 
a  reference  to  documents  and  dates,  "which  might  furnish  the 
necessary  light  to  both  governments  upon  limits  which  had 
never  been  fixed  or  determined  with  exactness."  (State  Pa- 
pers, 1817-18,  p.  321.)  Such  was  the  proposal  made  by  Don 
Pedro  Cevallos  on  the  part  of  Spain,  on  April  9th,  1805. 
Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Moore,  in  reply,  proposed  a  compromise 
in  connection  with  the  western  frontier,  that  a  line  along  the 
River  Colorado,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  and  from  thence 
to  the  northern  limits  of  Louisiana,  should  be  the  boundary  ; 
but  the  Spanish  government  declined  to  accept  their  propo- 
sal, and  the  negotiations  were  not  resumed  till  the  year  1817. 
Spain  had,  in  the  mean  time,  during  the  captivity  of  the 
Spanish  monarch  in  France,  been  unexpectedly  deprived  of 


'.' 


* 


.  I 


> 


fj'.;;. 

j,.j 

'4  ■ 

'     1,     ■      '    ' 

■I'm 

'     i"* 

■  '^:  ■ 

.  ,-,    ,.,^ 

'.i:- 


:-     } 

ife- 

f; 

■■■•: 

■■     ' 

i 

\ 

;■■.,.. 

m. 


in*,. 


■.'  r    w 

■;  1 ,  ' 


164 


PROPOSED    BOUNDARY. 


the  greater  part  of  West  Florida,  in  1810,  by  the  United 
States,  without  any  declaration  of  war,  or  stipulation  of  peace, 
which  could  seem  to  authorise  it.  On  re-opening  the  ncgo- 
tiation  in  1817,  the  Spanisli  Government,  having  waived  all 
demands  on  this  head,  proposed  to  cede  the  two  Floridas  to 
the  United  States  in  exchange  for  the  territory  which  lies 
between  the  River  Mississippi  and  the  well-known  limit  which 
now  separates,  and  has  separated  Louisiana,  when  France 
possessed  it,  before  the  year  1764,  and  even  before  the  death 
of  King  Charles  II.  of  Spain,  from  the  Spanish  province  of 
Texas :  so  that  the  Mississippi  might  be  the  only  boundary 
of  the  dominions  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  and  of  those  of  the 
United  States.     (State  Papers,  1817-1818,  p.  356.) 

In  the  course  of  the  subsequent  negotiations,  the  Spanish 
commissioner,  Don  Luis  de  Onis,  in  a  letter  of  the  12th  of 
March  1818,  refused  to  admit  the  authority  of  the  grant  of 
Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat  as  evidence  of  the  limits  of  Louisiana, 
and  referred  to  the  memoir  drawn  up  by  M.  Kerlet,  for  many 
years  governor  of  the  province  before  it  was  ceded  to  Spain 
by  the  Treaty  of  1763,  containing  a  description  of  its  proper 
extert  and  limits.  This  memoir  had  been  delivered  by  the 
Due  de  Choiseul,  minister  of  France,  to  the  Spanish  ambas- 
sador at  Paris,  as  a  supplement  to  the  Act  of  Cession  of  Lou- 
isiana. (State  Papers,  1817-18,  p.  437.)  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Secretary  of  State,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
maintained  that  *'  the  only  boundaries  ever  acknowledged  by 
France,  before  the  cession  to  Spain  in  Nov.  3,  1762,  were 
those  marked  out  in  the  grant  from  Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat." 
She  always  claimed  the  territory  which  Spain  called  Texas, 
as  being  within  the  limits,  and  forming  part  of  Louisiana, 
"  which  in  that  grant  is  declared  to  be  bounded  westward  by 
New  Mexico,  eastward  by  Carolina,  and  extending  inward  to 
the  Illinois,  and  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  its 
principal  branches."     (State  Papers,  1817-18,  p.  470.) 

These  discussions  were  suspended  for  a  short  time,  in  con- 
sequence of  difficulties  between  the  two  governments  re- 
specting the  Seminole  Indians  in  Florida  ;  but  on  the  24th  of 
October  Don  Luis  d'Onis  proposed,  that  "  to  avoid  all  causes 
of  dispute  in  future,  the  limits  of  the  respective  possessions  of 
both  governments  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  shall  be  de- 
signated by  a  line  beginning  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between 
the  rivers  Marmentoa  and  Cascasiu,  following  the  Arroyo- 
Hondo,  between  Adaes  and  Natchitoches,  crossing  the  Rio 


i!'; 


THE    COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


165 


5  United 
of  peace, 
he  nego- 
aived  al] 
oridas  to 
hich  lies 
lit  which 
1  France 
he  death 
vince  of 
joundary 
se  of  the 

Spanish 

12th  of 

grant  of 

ouisiana, 

m  many 

'o  Spain 

ts  proper 

i  by  the 

1  ambas- 

of  Lou- 

le  other 

d  States, 

dged  by 

2,  were 

rozat." 

Texas, 

uisiana, 

ward  by 

ward  to 

d  of  its 

in  con- 
jnts  re- 
24th  of 

causes 
sions  of 

be  de^ 
etween 
Arroyo- 
he  Rio 


\ 


Roxo,  or  Red  River,  at  32°  of  latitude  and  9>°  of  longitude, 
from  London,  according  to  Mclish's  map,  and  thence  running 
directly  north,  crossing  the  Arkansas,  the  White,  and  the 
Osage  Rivers,  till  it  strikes  the  Missouri,  and  then  following 
the  middle  of  that  river  to  its  source,  so  that  the  territory  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  said  river  will  belong  to  Spain,  and  that 
on  the  left  bank  to  the  United  States.  The  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  and  Marmentoa  shall  remain  free  to  ihe  sub- 
jects of  both  parties."     (State  Papers,  1818-19,  p.  276.) 

No  proposal  had  as  yet  been  advanced  by  either  party  to 
carry  the  boundary  line  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  till  Oc- 
tober 31,  1818,  when  Mr.  Adams  olTered,  as  the  ultimatum  of 
the  United  States,  a  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  River  Sabine, 
following  its  course  to  32°  N.  L.,  thence  due  north  to  the 
Rio  Roxo,  or  Red  River,  following  the  course  of  that  river  to 
its  source,  touching  the  chain  of  the  Snow  Mountains  in  lati- 
tude 37°  25'  north,  thence  to  the  summit,  and'  following  the 
chain  of  the  same  to  41°,  thence  following  the  same  parallel 
lothe  South  Sea."  The  Spanish  commissioner,  in  his  reply, 
undertook  to  admit  the  River  Sabine  instead  of  the  Mar- 
mentoa, on  condition  "  that  the  line  proposed  by  Mr.  Adams 
should  run  due  north  from  the  point  where  it  crosses  the  Rio 
Roxo  till  it  strikes  the  Missouri,  and  thence  along  the  middle 
of  the  latter  to  its  source ;"  but  in  regard  to  the  extension  of 
the  line  beyond  the  Missouri,  along  the  Spanish  possessions  to 
the  Pacijict  he  declared  himself  to  be  totally  unprepared  by 
his  instructions  to  discuss  such  a  proposal.  The  negotiations 
were  in  consequence  broken  off.  Subsequently,  the  Spanish 
commissioner,  having  received  fresh  instructions  from  his  go- 
vernment in  a  letter  of  June  16,  1819,  proposed  to  draw  the 
western  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Spanish  territories  from  the  source  of  the  Missouri  to  the  Co- 
lumbia River,  and  along  the  course  of  the  latter  to  the  Pacific, 
which  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  rejected 
as  inadmissible.  Don  Luis  d'Onis  thereupon,  having  ex- 
pressly waived  all  questions  as  to  the  right  of  either  power  to 
the  territory  in  dispute,  and  also  as  to  the  limits  of  Louisiana, 
proposed  that  the  boundary  line,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Adams, 
should  follow  the  Sabine  river  to  its  source,  thence  by  the 
94th  degree  of  longitude  to  the  Red  River  of  Natchitoches, 
and  along  the  same  to  the  95th  degree;  and  crossing  it  at  that 
I  oint,  should  run  by  a  line  due  north  to  the  Arkansas,  and 

8* 


•i«ii' 


ij  ',.• 


■m< 


•-, 


! 

'•;'■;  ■ 

ill 

■ 

A'- 

n 


i 

I  ■ 

i: 

: 

?■;■ 

ii 

1 1.  '■ 

166 


along 


THE    MIILTN03IAII    RIVER. 


th( 


source,  thence  by  a  line  due  west  till  it  strikes 
the  source  of  the  River  St.  Clemente  or  Multnomah,  in  lati- 
tude  41°, and  along  that  river  totiie  Pacific  Ocean:  the  whole 
agreeably  to  MeHsh's  map.  This  is  another  very  remarkable 
instance  of  the  danger  of  referring  even  to  the  best  maps, 
when  territorial  limits  are  to  be  regulated  by  the  physical  fea- 
tures of  a  country.  There  must  have  been  a  monstrous  error 
in  Melish's  map,  which  the  Spanish  commissioner  had  before 
him,  if  such  a  line  could  have  been  drawn  upon  it  from  the 
source  of  the  Arkansas  due  west  to  the  source  of  the  Mult- 
nomah, the  modern  Willamette  River.  Mr.  Adams,  in  reply, 
proposed  a  slightly  modified  line  "  to  the  source  of  the  Ar- 
kansas in  41°,  and  thence  due  west  to  the  Pacific  along  the 
parallel  of  41°  according  to  Melish's  map  up  to  1818  ;  but  if 
the  source  of  the  Arkansas  should  fall  south  or  north  of  41°, 
then  the  line  should  be  drawn  due  north  or  south  from  its 
source  to  the  41st  parallel,  and  thence  due  west  to  the  sea." 
This  would  have  been  an  intelligible  line.  Don  Luis  d'Onis 
then  communicated  a  project  of  a  further  modified  line  from 
the  1 00th  parallel  of  longitude  west  of  Greenwich  along  the 
middle  of  the  Arkansas  to  the  42d  parallel ;  "  thence  a  lino 
shall  be  drawn  westward,  by  the  same  parallel  of  latitude,  to 
the  source  of  the  River  San  Clemente,  or  Multnomah,  fol- 
lowing the  course  of  that  river  to  the  43°  of  latitude,  and 
thence  by  a  line  due  west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean."  Another 
counter  project  was  proposed  by  Mr.  Adams  on  the  13th  of 
February,  and  ultimately  it  was  agreed  between  the  parties  to 
admit  the  parallel  of  42°  from  the  source  of  the  Arkansas 
westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  the  proviso  that  if  the 
source  of  the  Arkansas  should  be  north  or  south  of  42°,  the 
line  should  be  drawn  from  it  south  or  north  to  the  42d  parallel. 
It  was  fortunate  that  this  proviso  was  adopted,  for  actual  sur- 
veys have  since  determined  the  source  of  the  Arkansas  to  be 
at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  Verde,  in  about  40°  45'  north  latitude. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  an  illustration  of  the  lamentable  want 
of  information  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  commissioner  in 
respect  to  the  boundary  line  which  he  proposed  to  be  drawn, 
first  of  all  along  the  parallel  of  41°  due  west  to  the  source  of 
the  Multnomah,  and  secondly  along  the  parallel  of  42°  due 
west  to  the  same  river,  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  source  of 
tliis  river  is  ascertainad  to  ha  very  111  lie  further  south  than 
the  44lh  parallel  of  latitude,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  excellent 


THE    C  ALIFORM  A3. 


167 


it  strikes 
,  in  lati. 
Iio  whole 
narkablo 
st  maps, 
ical  fca- 
3US  error 
id  before 
rom  the 
he  Mult- 
in  reply, 
'  the  Ar- 
long  the 
i ;  but  if 
I  of  41°, 
from  its 
he  sea." 
s  d'Onis 
ine  from 
long  the 
;e  a  line 
itude,  to 
lah,  fol- 
jde,  and 
Another 
13th  of 
arties  to 
rkansas 
it  if  the 
42°,  the 
parallel, 
ual  sur- 
;as  to  be 
atitiide. 
)le  want 
ioner  in 
drawn, 
ource  of 
42°  due 
jurce  of 
h  than 
xcellcnt 


American  ma,*  attached  to  Commander  Wilkes'  Exploring 
Expedition,  though  even  so  late  as  in  Mitchell's  map  for  1531 
it  is  placed  in  about  42"". 

The  Treaty  of  Washington,  or  the  Floridas,  was  thus  at 
last  concluded  on  the  22d  February,  1819,  and  by  the  third 
article,  after  specifying  the  boundary  line,  as  above  described, 
between  the  two  countries  west  of  the  Mississippi,  it  con- 
cludes thus  :  "  The  two  high  contracting  parties  agree  to  cede 
and  renounce  all  their  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions  to  the 
territories  described  by  the  said  line  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  United 
States  hereby  cede  to  his  Catholic  Majesty,  and  renounce  for 
ever,  all  their  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions  to  the  territories 
lying  west  and  south  of  the  above  described  line  ;  and  in  like 
manner  his  Catholic  Majesty  cedes  to  the  United  States  all 
his  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions  to  any  territories  east  and 
north  of  the  said  line,  and  for  himself,  his  heirs  and  succes- 
sors, renounces  all  claim  to  the  said  territories  for  ever."  (Mar- 
tens'Nouveau  Recueil  dcs  Traitds,  v.,  p.  333.) 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  words  of  the  above  article, 
that  the  nature  of  the  rights  reciprocally  ceded  are  in  no 
manner  specified.  It  thus  becomes  necessary  to  look  to  the 
antecedent  negotiations  to  determine  this  question.  In  thf> 
first  communication  from  the  Chevalier  d'Onis,  on  January 
5,  1818,  in  respect  to  the  western  boundary  of  Louisiana,  we 
find  him  assert  that  "  the  right  and  dominion  of  the  Crown 
of  Spain  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  as  high  up  as 
the  Californias,  is  not  less  certain  and  indisputable  (than  her 
claim  to  West  Florida,)  the  Spaniards  having  explored  as  far 
as  the  47th  degree  in  the  expedition  under  Juan  de  Fuca  in 
15y2,  and  in  that  of  Admiral  Fonte  to  the  55th  degree  in 
1640. 

"The  dominion  of  Spain  in  these  vast  regions  being  thus 
established,  and  her  rights  of  discovery,  conquest,  and  pos- 
session, being  never  disputed,  she  could  scarcely  possess  a 
property  founded  on  more  respectable  principles,  whether  of 
the  law  of  nations,  of  public  law,  or  any  others  which  serve 
as  a  basis  to  such  acquisitions  as  all  the  independent  king- 
doms and  states  of  the  earth  consist  of."  (State  Papers, 
1817-18,  p.  427.) 

3Ir.  Adams,  in  his  reply  of  January  16,  1818,  stated  that 
**  the  President  of  the  United  States  considered  it  would  be 
an  unprofitable  waste  of  time  to  enter  again  at  large  upon 
topics  of  controversy,  which  were  at  that  time  [1805]  so 


■  ',■ 


■I 

# 


i! 


t! 


5f 


-It 


^ii^i 


■WJ- 


''i| 

,!!li 


fmrn 


'S 


i« 


iP^iii 


1G8 


NEGOTIATIONS   DUOKEIV   OFF. 


thoroughly  debated,  and  upon  which  he  perceives  nothing  in 
your  notes,  which  was  not  then  substantially  argued  by  Don 
Pedro  Cevallos,  and  to  which  every  reply  essential  to  eluci- 
date  the  rights  and  establish  the  pretensions  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States  was  then  given."  Without,  therefore,  no- 
ticing even  in  the  slightest  manner  that  portion  of  the  Spanish 
title  now  for  the  first  time  set  out  in  respect  of  the  Californias, 
and  which  had  not  in  any  manner  been  alluded  to  in  the  pre- 
vious correspondence,  he  simply  proposed,  "  the  Colorado 
River  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  and  from  thence  to  the 
northern  limits  of  Louisiana,  to  be  the  western  boundary  ;  or 
to  leave  that  boundary  unsettled  for  future  arrangement."  It 
may  be  observed,  that  the  paramount  object  of  the  United 
States  at  this  moment,  was  to  obtain  the  cession  of  the 
Spanish  claims  to  territories  eastward  of  the  Mississippi. 
[State  Papers,  1817-18,  p.  450.]  The  western  frontier  was 
comparatively  of  less  pressing  importance. 

Various  communications  having  in  the  mean  time  been  ex- 
changed,  Mr.  Adams  at  last,  in  his  letter  of  Oct.  31,  1818, 
proposed  for  the  first  time,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
an  extension  of  the  boundary  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  namely, 
a  line  drawn  due  west  along  the  41st  parallel.  He  did  not 
attempt,  on  this  occasion,  to  contest  the  position  which  Spain 
had  taken  up  in  respect  to  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, but  contented  himself  with  again  asserting,  that  the 
rights  of  the  United  States  to  the  entire  vallej'  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  its  confluents  were  established  beyond  the  reach  of 
controversy.  Mr.  Greenhow  [p.  316]  observes,  "  On  these 
positive  assertions  of  the  Spanish  minister,  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams, 
the  American  plenipotentiary  and  Secretary  of  State,  did  not 
consider  himself  required  to  make  any  comment ;  and  the 
origin,  extent,  and  value  of  the  claims  of  Spain  to  the  north- 
western portion  of  America,  remained  unquestioned  during 
the  discussion." 

The  Spanish  commissioner  seems  to  have  regarded  the 
silence  of  Mr.  Adams  as  a  tacit  admission  that  his  position 
was  unassailable,  and  therefore  was  totally  unprepared  for  the 
proposal  of  the  United  States,  if  we  may  judge  from  his 
reply  : — "  What  you  add  respecting  the  extension  of  the 
same  line  beyond  the  Missouri,  along  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  exceeds  by  its  magnitude  and 
its  transcendency  all  former  demands  and  pretensions  stated 
by  the  United  States.     Confining,  therefore,  myself  to  the 


ff:% 


I'LAN    OF   THE    TRESIDENT. 


169 


thing  in 
by  Don 

0  cluci- 
part  of 

ibre,  no- 
Spanish 
ifornias, 
the  pre- 
^olorado 
3  to  the 
ary ;  or 
mt."  It 
United 
of  the 
isissippi. 
tier  was 

)een  ex- 
1,  1818, 

States, 
namely, 

did  not 
h  Spain 

1  Moun- 
hat  the 

Missis- 
reach  of 
n  these 
Adanns, 

did  not 
and  the 
e  north. 

during 

3ed  the 
position 
for  the 
om  his 
of  the 
posses- 
de  and 
stated 
to  the 


power  granted  to  me  by  my  sovereign,  I  am  unable  to 
stipulate  any  thing  on  this  point.  [State  Papers,  1818-19, 
p.  284.] 

Mr.  Adams,  in  his  reply  of  Nov.  30,  1818,  [ibid.  291,] 
writes,  "  As  you  have  now  declared  that  you  are  not  autho. 
rised  to  agree,  either  to  the  course  of  the  Red  Kivcr,  [Rio 
Roxo,]  for  the  boundary,  nor  to  the  41st  parallel  of  latitude, 
from  the  Snow  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  President 
deems  it  useless  to  pursue  any  further  the  attempt  at  an  ad- 
justment of  this  object  by  the  present  negotiation."  Don 
Luis,  in  withdrawing  for  the  present  moment  from  the  nego- 
tiation, in  his  letter  of  Dec.  12, 1818,  [ibid.,  p.  602,]  observes, 
"I  even  expressed  my  earnest  desire  to  conclude  the  nego- 
tiation, so  far  as  to  admit  the  removal  of  the  boundary  line, 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on  the  river  Sabine,  as  proposed 
by  you ;  and  I  only  added,  that  it  should  run  more  or  less 
obliquely  to  the  Missouri,  thereby  still  keeping  in  view  the 
consideration  of  conciliating  the  wish  that  your  government 
might  have,  of  retaining  such  other  settlements  as  might  have 
been  formed  on  the  bank  of  that  river,  and  observing,  never- 
theless, that  it  was  not  to  pass  by  New  Mexico,  or  any  other 
provinces  or  dominions  of  the  crown  of  Spain." 

The  Spanish  commissioner,  after  obtaining  fresh  instruc- 
tions to  authorize  him  to  extend  the  boundary  line  to  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean,  stated  in  a  letter  of  Jan.  16,  1819,  to  Mr.  Adams, 
[State  Papers,  1819-20,  p.  665,]  that  "his  Majesty  will  agree 
that  the  boundary  line  between  the  two  states  shall  extend 
from  the  source  of  the  Missouri,  westward  to  the  Columbia 
River,  and  along  the  middle  thereof  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  ; 
in  the  hope  that  this  basis  would  be  accepted  by  the  President, 
"  as  it  presents  the  means  of  realizing  his  great  plan  of  ex- 
tending a  navigation  from  the  Pacific  to  the  remotest  points 
of  the  northern  states." 

This  offer  was  not  accepted,  and  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  reply 
of  Jan.  29,  1819,  simply  stated,  "that  the  proposal  to  draw 
the  western  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Spanish  territories  on  this  continent,  from  the  source  of  the 
Missouri  to  the  Columbia  River,  cannot  be  admitted,"  (ibid, 
p.  566  ;)  and  at  the  same  time  he  renewed  his  proposal  of 
the  31st  of  October  last,  as  to  the  parallel  of  41°. 

Don  Luis  de  Onis,  as  might  be  expected,  did  not  accede 
to  this,  and  in  his  next  letter,  of  Feb,  1,  1819,  writes,  "I 
have  proved  to  you  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  that 


r 


A\ 


[f 


.  \ 


.  m 


ffin' 

n,.. 

'i 

1 

! 

■  t 

1 

\-  ■; 


i  ♦ 


j: 


i 


\l- 


11"'    I'll 

mm 


m 

-... 

I^^H 

11 

If 

1  ul  Jk' 

i^. 

170 


SPANISH  CONCESSIONS. 


neither  the  Red  River  of  Xatchilochos,  nor  the  Cohiinhia, 
ever  forrnecl  the  boundary  of  Louisiana  ;  hut  as  you  have  inti- 
mated to  me  that  it  is  uschjss  to  ])ursuu  tho  thscus.sion  any 
further,  I  acquiesce  with  you  thori;in,  and  I  agree  that,  keep- 
ing out  of  view  the  rights  which  either  party  may  have  to  the 
territory  in  dispute,  wc  should  conlinc  ourselves  to  the  settle- 
ment  of  those  points  which  may  be  for  the  mutual  interest 
and  convenience  of  both. 

"  Upon  this  view,  therefore,  of  the  subject,  and  considering 
that  the  motive  for  declining  to  aduiit  my  proposal  of  extend- 
ing the  boundary  line  from  the  Missouri  to  the  Columbia,  and 
along  that  river  to  the  Pacific,  appears  to  be  the  wish  of  the 
President  to  include,  within  the  limits  of  the  Union,  all  the 
branches  and  rivers  emptying  into  the  said  River  Columbia,  I 
will  adapt  my  proposals  on  this  point,  so  as  fully  to  satisfy 
the  demand  of  the  United  States,  without  losing  sight  of  the 
essential  object,  namely,  that  the  boundary  lino  shall,  as  far 
as  possible,  be  natural  and  clearly  defined,  and  leave  no  room 
for  dispute  to  the  inhabitants  on  either  side." 

He  therefore  proposed,  as  the  Red  River  rose  within  a  few 
leagues  of  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico,  to  substitute 
the  Arkansas  for  the  Red  River ;  so  that  the  line  along  the  Red 
River  should  not  be  drawn  further  westward  than  the  95th 
degree  of  longitude,  and  crossing  it  at  that  point,  should  run 
due  north  to  the  Arkansas,  and  along  it  to  its  source ;  thence, 
by  a  line  due  west,  till  it  strikes  the  source  of  the  River  St. 
Clemente,  or  Multnomah,  in  latitude  41°,  and  along  that  river 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The  whole  agreeably  to  Melish's 
map."— (State  Papers,  1819-20,  p.  568.) 

Mr.  Adams  on  the  other  hand,  on  Feb.  6,  1819,  repeated 
the  proposal  of  the  United  States  as  to  the  line  from  the 
source  of  the  Arkansas  River  being  drawn  along  the  pa- 
rallel of  41°  N.  L.  to  the  Pacific,  with  other  modifications  in 
the  general  detail  of  the  boundary. 

This  proposal,  however,  was  not  accepted,  and  the  Spanish 
commissioner  in  his  turn,  on  Feb.  9,  proposed  a  different  line, 
to  be  drawn  "  along  the  middle  of  the  Arkansas  to  the  42°  of 
latitude  ;  thence  a  line  shall  be  drawn  westward  by  the  same 
parallel  of  latitude  to  the  source  of  the  River  San  Clemente  or 
Multnomah,  following  the  course  of  that  river  to  the  43°  of 
latitude,  and  thence  by  a  line  to  the  Pacific  Ocean."  (Ibid. 
p.  570.) 

Mr.  Adams,  in  his  answer  of  February  13,  1319,  still  re- 


CONTKAST    OF    CLAIJIS. 


171 


'oliiinhiai 
avo  inti- 
sion  any 
at,  kcep- 
ve  to  the 
10  settle- 
interest 

isidering 
f  extond- 
(ibia,  and 
ih  of  tho 

I,  all  the 
umbia,  I 

0  satisfy 
ht  of  tho 

II,  as  far 
no  room 

in  a  few 
ubstituto 
the  Red 
the  95th 
ould  run 

1  thence, 
liver  St. 
lat  river 
Melish's 

repeated 
rom  the 
the  pa- 

itions  in 

Spanish 
ont  line, 
e  42°  of 
he  same 
nente  or 
43°  of 
(Ibid. 

still  re- 


tained the  parallel  of  41°  of  latitude  from  the  source  of  the 
Arkansas  to  the  South  Sea,  according  to  Melish's  map,  (Ibid, 
p.  575.) 

The  Chevalier  do  Onis,  on  tho  IGth  of  Tebruary  1819, 
ultimately  agreed  "  to  admit  the  42°  instead  of  the  A'\°  of 
latitude  from  the  Arkansas  to  the  Pacitic  Ocean."  (Ibid, 
p.  580.) 

These  extracts  from  the  documentary  correspondence  pre- 
liminary to  the  Treaty  of  1819,  will  show  the  nature  of  the 
claims  maintained  by  the  two  parties, :  id  thus  serve  to  ex- 
plain the  fueaning  of  the  third  article  of  the  treaty.  Spain 
asserted  her  right  and  dominion  over  the  northvv<.st  coast  of 
America  as  high  up  as  the  Californias,  as  based  upon  the  dis- 
coveries of  Juan  de  Fuca  in  1592,  and  Admiral  Fonte  in 
1640.  The  United  States  made  no  claim  to  territory  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States 
asserted  her  right  over  the  coasts  of  the  Mexican  Gulf  from 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Rio  Bravo  by  virtue  of  Crozat's  grant, 
and  of  the  settlement  of  La  Salle  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard, 
whilst  Spain  maintained  that  the  expedition  of  Hernando  de 
Soto  and  others  entitled  her  by  discovery  to  tho  entire  coasts 
of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  and  that  the  crown  of  Spain,  before 
1763,  had  extended  her  dominion  eastward  over  the  right 
side  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  mouth  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  and  northward  over  the  right  side  of  the  latter  river 
from  its  mouth  to  its  source  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  depen- 
dencies of  the  Spanish  province  of  New  Mexico  extended  as  far 
as  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Spanish  province 
of  Texas  as  far  as  tho  Red  River  and  Mississippi.  The  rights, 
claims,  and  pretensions,  therefore,  to  any  territories  lying 
east  and  north  of  the  parallel  of  42°,  which  Spain,  by  the  3rd 
article  of  the  Treaty  of  1819,  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
had  respect  to  the  Spanish  province  of  Texas,  the  Spanish 
province  of  Now  Mexico,  and  the  Californias  ;  the  rights, 
claims,  and  pretensions  which  the  United  States  ceded  to  his 
Catholic  M;ijesty  to  any  territories  west  and  south  of  this 
line,  had  reference  to  the  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  as  far 
the  Rio  Bravo,  and  the  inland  country  ;  for  no  claim  or  pre- 
tension had  been  advanced  by  tho  United  States  to  territory 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  the  object  of  tho  negotia- 
tion was  expressly  to  determine  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana, 
which  the  United  States  insisted  had  been  ceded  to  them  in 
the  full  extent  in  which  it  had  been  possessed  by  France, 


t  : 


172 


POSSESSION  OF   THE    SEA'COASl 


according  to  the  limits  marked  out  by  Louis  ..iV.  in  his 
grant  to  Crozat. 

In  the  course  of  these  negotiations,  we  find  certain  princi- 
pies  ot'  international  law  laid  down  by  the  commissioners  of 
the  United  States  as  applicable  to  the  question  of  disputed 
boundaries.  They  seem  to  have  been  advanced  after  careful 
consideration,  for  Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Monroe  formally 
enunciated  them  on  the  2Uth  of  April  1805,  as  "dictated  by 
reason,  and  adopted  in  |)ractice  by  European  Powers  in  the 
discoveries  and  acquisitions  which  they  have  rcBpectively 
made  in  the  new  world  ;"  and  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  12th  of 
March  1820,  restated  them  again  as  principles '' sanctioned 
alike  by  immutable  justice,  and  the  general  practice  of  the 
European  nations,  which  have  formed  settlements  and  held 
possessions  in  this  hemisphere."  (British  and  Foreign  State 
Papers,  1817-18,  pp.  327,  407.) 

The  first  is,  "  That  whenever  any  European  nation  takes 
possession  of  any  extent  of  sea-coast^  that  possession  is  under- 
stood as  extending  into  the  interior  country,  to  the  sources  of 
the  rivers  emptying  within  that,  coast,  to  all  their  branches, 
and  the  country  they  cover,  and  to  give  it  a  right  in  exclusion 
of  all  other  nations  to  the  same." 

"  It  is  evident,"  write  Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Monroe,  (ibid., 
p.  327,)  "  that  some  rule  or  principle  must  govern  the  rights 
of  European  Powers  in  regard  to  each  other  in  all  such  cases, 
and  it  is  certain  that  none  can  be  adopted,  in  those  to  which 
it  applies,  more  reasonable  or  just  than  the  present  one. 
Many  weighty  considerations  shew  the  propriety  of  it.  Na- 
ture  seems  to  have  destined  a  range  of  territory  so  described 
for  the  same  society,  to  have  connected  its  several  parts  to- 
gether  by  the  ties  of  a  common  interest,  and  to  have  detached 
them  from  others.  If  this  principle  is  departed  from,  it  must 
be  by  attaching  to  such  discovery  and  possession,  a  more  en- 
larged or  contracted  scope  of  acquisition  ;  but  a  slight  atten- 
tion to  the  subject  will  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of  either. 
The  latter  would  be  to  restrict  the  rights  of  a  European 
Power,  who  discovered  and  took  possession  of  a  new  country, 
to  the  spot  on  which  its  troops  or  settlements  rested,  a  doc- 
trine  which  has  been  totally  disclaimed  by  all  the  Powers  who 
made  discoveries  and  acquired  possessions  in  America.  The 
other  extreme  would  be  equally  improper ;  that  is,  that  the 
nation  who  made  such  discovery  should,  in  all  cases,  be  en- 
titled  to  the  whole  of  the  terrilurv  so  discovered.     In  the 


I 


EXTENT    OP    SETTLEMENT. 


173 


V.  in  hia 

lin  princi- 
isioners  of 

disputed 
ter  careful 

formally 
ctated  by 
ers  in  the 
spectively 
le  12th  of 
anctioned 
ce  of  the 
and  held 
sign  State 

Hon  takes 
is  under- 
lources  of 
branches, 
exclusion 

•00,  (ibid., 
ho   rights 
ich  cases, 
to  which 
sent  one. 
it.     Na. 
described 
parts  to- 
detached 
1)  it  must 
more  en- 
jht  atten- 
of  either. 
European 
country, 
d,  a  doc- 
ivers  who 
:a.     The 
that  the 
!S,  bo  en- 
In  the 


case  of  an  island,  whose  extent  was  seen,  which  might  1k) 
soon  sailed  round,  and  preserved  by  a  few  forts,  it  may  apply 
with  justice  ;  but  in  that  of  a  continent  it  would  be  abso- 
lutely absurd.  Accordingly,  wu  find,  that  this  opposite  ex- 
treme has  been  equally  disclaimed  and  disavowed  by  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  Eurofjcan  nations.  The  great  con- 
tinent of  America,  north  and  south,  was  never  claimed  or 
held  by  any  one  European  nation,  nor  was  either  great 
section  of  it.  Their  pretensions  have  been  always  bounded 
by  more  moderate  and  rational  ])rinciplcs.  The  one  laid 
down  has  obtained  general  assent. 

"  This  principle  was  completely  established  in  the  contro- 
versy which  produced  the  war  of  1755.  CJroat  Britain  con- 
tended that  she  had  a  right,  founded  on  the  discovery  and 
possession  of  such  lerrilory,  to  define  its  boundaries  by  given 
latitudes  in  grants  to  individuals,  retaining  the  sovereignty  to 
herself  from  sea  to  sea.  This  pretension  on  her  part  was 
opposed  by  France  and  Spain,  and  it  was  finally  abandoned 
by  Great  Britain  in  the  treaty  of  176M,  which  established  the 
Mississippi  as  the  western  boundary  of  her  possessions.  It 
was  opposed  hy  France  and  Spain  on  the  principle  here  in- 
sisted on,  which  of  course  gives  it  the  highest  possible  sanction 
in  the  present  case." 

To  a  similar  purport  Vattel,  b.  i.,  §  266,  writes  :  "  When  a 
nation  takes  possession  of  a  country,  with  a  view  to  settle 
there,  it  takes  possession  of  every  thing  included  in  it,  as 
lands,  lakes,  rivers,  dec."  It  is  universally  admitted,  that 
when  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  country,  she  is  considered 
to  appropriate  to  herself  all  its  natural  appendages,  such  as 
lakes,  rivers,  &c.,  and  it  is  perfectly  intelligible,  why  the 
practice  of  European  nations  has  sanctioned  the  exclusive 
title  of  the  first  settlers  on  any  extent  of  sea-coast  to  the  in- 
terior country  within  the  limits  of  the  coast  which  they  have 
occupied,  because  their  settlements  bar  the  approach  to  the 
interior  country,  and  other  nations  can  have  no  right  of  way 
across  the  settlements  of  independent  nations.  In  reference, 
however,  to  the  extent  of  coast,  which  a  nation  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  taken  possession  of  by  making  a  settlement  in 
a  vacant  country,  the  well-known  rule  of  terrce  dominium  fini- 
tur,  uhifinitur  armormn  vis,  might  on  the  first  thought  suggest 
itself;  but  it  has  not  been  hitherto  held  that  there  is  any 
analogy  between  jurisdiction  over  territory,  and  jurisdiction 
over  adjoining  seas :  on  the   contrary,  it  was  ruled  in  tho 


i 
) 

It 


f  '■■ 


174 


INCONSISTENT  ARGU.AIENTS. 


■'1 


M 


;. 


i; 
;1 


if'' 

•  »  ■ 

1 

hiw.-  . 

si_      . 

Circuit  Court  of  New  York,  1825,  in  the  case  of  Jackson  v. 
Porter,  1  Paine,  457,  "that  under  the  second  article  of  the 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  the  precincts  and  jurisdiction  of  a 
fort  are  not  to  be  considered  tlirce  miles  in  every  direction, 
by  analogy  to  the  jurisdiclion  of  a  country  over  that  portion 
of  the  sea  surrounding  its  coasts,  but  they  must  be  made  out 
by  proof."  The  comity  of  nations,  however,  has  recognised 
in  the  case  of  settlements  made  in  a  vacant  territory  for  the 
purpose  of  colonisation,  a  title  in  the  settlers  to  such  an  ex- 
tent of  territory  as  it  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  they  intend 
to  cultivate  (Vattcl,  b.  i.,  §  81,)  and  the  possession  of  which 
is  essential  either  to  the  convenience  or  security  of  the  settle- 
ment, without  being  inconvenient  to  other  nations.  The 
limitation  of  this  extent  seems  rather  to  have  been  regulated 
by  special  conventions,  than  by  any  rule  of  uniform  practice. 

On  the  authority  of  this  principle  as  above  stated,  Messrs. 
Pinckney  and  Monroe  contended,  that  "by  the  discovery  and 
possession  of  the  Mississippi  in  its  whole  length,  and  the  coast 
adjoining  it,  the  United  States  are  entitled  to  the  whole 
country  dependent  on  that  river,  the  waters  which  empty  into 
it,  and  their  several  branches,  within  the  limits  on  that  coast. 
The  extent  to  which  this  would  go  it  is  not  in  our  power  to 
say;  but  the  principle  being  clear,  dependent  on  plain  and 
simple  facts,  it  would  be  easy  to  ascertain  it." 

It  will  have  been  observed,  that  the  opposition  of  France 
and  Spain  to  the  pretensions  of  Great  Britain  is  adduced  by 
Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Monroe,  as  giving  the  highest  sanc- 
tion to  this  principle.  A  passage  in  Mr.  Calhoun's  letter  of 
Sept.  3,  1844,  to  Mr.  Pakenham  forms  a  striking  contrast. 
Having  alluded  to  the  claims  of  France  and  Great  Britain, 
first  conflicting  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  he  writes  :  '•  If  the 
relative  strength  of  these  different  claims  may  be  tested  by 
the  result  of  that  remarkable  contest,  that  of  continuity  west- 
ward must  be  oronounccd  to  bo  the  stronger  of  the  two.  Eng- 

•  Do 

land  has  had  at  least  the  advantage  of  the  result,  and  would 
seem  to  bo  foreclosed  against  contesting  the  principle — par- 
ticularly as  against  us,  who  contributed  so  much  to  that  re- 
sult, and  on  whom  that  contest,  and  her  example  and  her 
pretensions  from  the  first  settlement  of  our  country,  have 
contributed  to  impress  it  so  deeply  and  indelibly."  In  other 
respects  Mr.  Calhoun  aJ.opls  the  same  view  of  the  early 
European  settlements  in  North  America,  that  the  respective 
nations  "claimed  for  their  settlements  usually,  specific  limits 


CONTERMIXOUS   SETTLEMENTS. 


175 


ruckson  V. 
iclc  of  the 
iction  of  a 

direction, 
at  portion 

made  out 
■ecof^nised 
)ry  for  tiie 
ich  an  ex- 
Jey  intend 

of  which 
the  settle- 
ns.      The 

regulated 

practice. 
3,  Messrs. 
overy  and 
I  the  coast 
he  whole 
iipty  into 
hat  coast. 

power  to 
plain  and 

if  France 
diiced  by 
est  sanc- 

lettcr  of 
contrast, 
t  Britain, 

'•If  the 
ested  by 
ity  west- 
vo.  Eng. 
id  would 
)lo — par- 
that  re- 
and  her 
ry,  have 
In  other 
be  early 
ispcctive 
ic  limits 


along  the  coasts  or  bays  on  which  they  were  formed,  and  gone- 
rally  a  region  of  corresponding  width  extending  across  tho 
entire  continent  to  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

That  the  hypothesis  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  argument  was  meant 
to  be  affirmed,  may  be  inferred  from  Mr.  Gallatin  having 
categorically  asserted  the  same  fact  in  1826,  as  being  notorious. 
It  does  not  however  appear  from  the  protracted  negotiations 
prior  to  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  that  any  conflicting  principles 
of  international  law  were  advanced  by  tho  two  parties,  or  any 
question  of  disputed  title  set  at  rest  by  the  treaty.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  intimated  in  the  course  of  the  negotiations, 
by  Great  Britain,  that  she  considered  France  to  have  the 
natives  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi  under  her  protec- 
tion, when  she  proposed  that  the  King  of  France  should 
"consent  to  leave  them  under  the  protection  of  Great  Bri- 
tain." 

The  second  rule  is,  "that  whenever  a  European  nation 
makes  a  discovery,  and  takes  possession  of  any  portion  of 
that  continent,  and  another  afterwards  does  the  same  at  some 
distance  from  it,  where  the  boundary  between  them  is  not 
determined  by  the  principle  above  mentioned,  the  middle  dis- 
tance becomes  such  of  course.  The  justice  and  propriety  of 
this  rule  are  too  obvious  to  require  illustration." 

The  principle  here  stated  seems  very  analogous  to  that 
which  is  recognised  by  all  writers  on  international  law,  as 
regulating  the  navigation  of  rivers.  Thus  Vattel  (i.,  §  266) — 
"  When  a  nation  takes  possession  of  a  country  bounded  by  a 
river,  she  is  considered  as  appropriating  to  herself  the  river 
also  ;  for  the  utility  of  a  river  is  too  great  to  admit  a  sup- 
position that  the  nation  did  not  intend  to  reserve  it  for  her- 
self Consequently,  the  nation  that  first  established  her 
dominion  on  one  of  the  banks  of  the  river,  is  considered  as 
being  the  first  possessor  of  all  that  part  of  the  river  which 
bounds  her  territory.  Where  there  is  a  question  of  a  very 
broad  river,  this  presumption  admits  not  of  a  doubt,  so  far,  at 
least,  as  relates  to  a  part  of  the  river's  breadth,  and  the 
strength  of  the  presumption  increases  or  diminishes  in  tho 
inverse  ratio  with  the  breadth  of  the  river  ;  for  the  narrower 
the  river  is,  the  more  does  the  safety  and  convenience  of  its 
use  require  that  it  should  be  subject  entirely  to  the  empire  and 
property  of  that  nation."  To  make  the  reasoning  more  com- 
plete, it  might  have  been  added,  "  the  broader  the  river  is,  tho 
stronger  claim  has  each  party  to  a  portion  of  it,  as  requisite 


> ,' 


r 


:^: 


il  ■ 

J 

1 

1 

i 

1  ^■* 

-:■? 

• 

I  '* 


)     '5 


H' 


\'\. 


mm 


,! 

;'i 

\           ,  !>;!' 

■-             >i 

II 

'i                                                   ,  ;  i 

f-T 

Js> 

h'  ■         ^i'' 

^^ 

J;u„  .^    _ 

176 


ACQUISITIONS  FROM    NATIVES. 


for  its  own  convenienco,  and  not  likely  to  be  attended  with 
inconvenience  to  the  other  party." 

Mr.  Wheaton  states  the  rule  of  division  more  explicitly 
(part  ii.,  ch.  iv.) — "  Where  a  navigable  river  forms  the 
boundary  of  conterminous  states,  the  middle  of  the  channel, 
or  *  thalweg,'  is  generally  taken  as  the  line  of  separation  be- 
tween the  two  states,  the  presumption  of  law  being,  that  the 
right  of  navigation  is  common  to  both  :  but  this  presumption 
may  be  destroyed  by  actual  proofs  of  prior  occupancy,  and 
long  undisturbed  possession  giving  one  of  the  riparian  pro- 
prietors  the  exclusive  title  to  the  entire  river." 

In  an  analogous  manner,  where  a  large  tract  of  unoccupied 
land  forms  the  boundary  of  conterminous  settlements,  the 
middle  distance  is  suggested  by  natural  equity  as  the  line  of 
demarcation,  where  such  line  is  not  inconvenient  to  either 
party,  and  when  one  party  cannot  establish  a  stronger  pre- 
sumption than  the  other  of  a  perfect  right  in  its  own  favour. 

Thus,  Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Monroe  contended,  that  "  by 
the  application  of  this  principle  to  the  discovery  made  by  M. 
de  la  Salle  of  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard,  and  his  establishment 
there  on  the  western  side  of  the  River  Colorado,  the  United 
States  have  a  just  right  to  a  boundary  founded  on  the  middle 
distance  between  that  point  and  the  then  nearest  Spanish 
settlement ;  which,  it  is  understood,  was  in  the  province  of 
Panuco,  unless  that  claim  should  be  precluded  on  thr  principle 
above  mentioned.  To  what  point  that  would  carry  us,  it  is 
equally  out  of  our  power  to  say  ;  nor  is  it  material,  as  the 
possession  in  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard,  taken  in  connection 
with  that  on  the  Mississippi,  has  been  always  understood,  as 
of  right  we  presume  it  ought,  to  extend  to  the  Rio  Bravo,  on 
which  we  now  insist." 

The  third  rule  is,  "  that  whenever  any  European  nation 
has  thus  acquired  a  right  to  any  portion  of  territory  on  that 
continent,  that  right  can  never  be  diminished  or  affected  by 
any  other  Power,  by  virtue  of  purchases  made,  by  grants,  or 
conquests  of  the  natives  within  the  limits  described." 

"it  is  believed,"  continued  the  commissioners,  "that  this 
principle  has  been  admitted,  and  acted  on  invariably,  since 
the  discovery  of  America,  in  respect  to  their  possessions  there, 
by  all  the  European  Powers.  It  is  particularly  illustrated  by 
the  stipulations  of  their  most  important  treaties  concerning 
those  possessions,  and  the  practice  under  them,  viz.,  the 
Treaty  of  Utrecht  in  1713,  and  that  of  Paris  in  1763." 


RIGHT   OP   PRE-EMPTION. 


177 


tended  with 

B  explicitly 
forms  the 
le  channel, 
aration  be- 
ig,  that  the 
resumption 
pancy,  and 
parian  pro. 

unoccupied 
5ments,  the 
the  line  of 
t  to  either 
'onger  pre- 
'n  favour. 
,  that  "  by 
ade  by  M. 
ablishment 
he  United 
the  middle 
5t  Spanish 
rovince  of 
^  principle 
y  us,  it  is 
ial,  as  the 
onnection 
jrstood,  as 
Bravo,  on 


The  practice  of  European  nations  has  certainly  recognised 
in  the  nation  which  Las  first  occupied  the  territory  of  savage 
tribes,  that  live  by  hunting,  fishing,  and  roaming  habits,  the 
sole  right  of  acquiring  the  soil  from  the  natives  by  purchase, 
or  cession,  or  conquest,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  settle- 
ments. The  more  humane  spirit  of  the  modern  code  of 
nations  seems  disposed  to  reduce  this  right  to  a  right  of  pre- 
emptlofi,  as  against  other  European  nations. 

The  applicability  of  the  above  principles  to  the  solution  of 
the  questions  at  present  under  discussion  between  the 
governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  will  be 
considered  in  a  aubscquent  chapter. 


'; 


m  nation 
y  on  that 
fee  ted  by 
"rants,  or 


that  this 
bly,  since 
ons  there, 
trated  by 
tncerning 

viz.,  the 
3." 


*\\ 


f   s 


V 


.  ,v . 


T 


•  i, 


178 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

NEGOTIATIONS  BETWEEN  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  THE  UNITED 

STATES  IN  182:J-24. 

Proceedings  in  Congress  after  the  Convention  o'  1818. — Russian  Ukase 
of  18'2I. —  Russian  Title  to  the  North-west  Coast  of  America. — Declara- 
tion of  President  Monroe,  of  Dec.  2,  1823. — Protest  of  Russia  and 
(ircat  Britain.-  -Report  of  General  Jessup. — Exclusive  Claim  set  up  by 
the  United  States,  on  the  Ground  of  Discovery  by  Captain  Gray,  and 
Settlement  at  Astoria. — Extent  of  Title  by  Discovery  of  the  Mouth  of  a 
River. — The  United  States  claim  up  to  51°  N.  L. — British  Objections. 
— Convention  of  1790, — Discovery  by  Captain  Gray  a  private  En- 
terprise.— Mr.  Rush's  Reply. — Gray's  Vessel  a  national  Ship  for 
such  an  Occasion. — Superior  Title  of  Spain — British  Answer. — Pre- 
tensions  of  Spain  never  admitted. — Drake's  Expedition  in  1578. — Mr. 
Rush's  further  Reply. — Treaty  of  1763,  a  Bar  to  Great  Britain  west- 
ward of  the  Mississippi. — Exclusive  Claim  of  the  United  States  to  the 
entire  Valley  of  the  Columbia  River. — Proposal  of  the  British  Com- 
missioners  of  the  Parallel  of  49°  to  tiie  North-easternmost  Branch  of  the 
Columbia,  and  thence  along  the  Mid-channel  of  the  River  to  the  Sea. — 
Counter-proposal  of  the  United  States  of  the  Parallel  of  49°  to  the  Sea. 
— Negotiations  broken  off. 

The  Convention  of  1818  had  provided  that  the  country  west- 
ward of  the  Stony  Mountains  should  be  free  and  open,  for  the 
term  of  ten  years  from  the  signature  of  the  treaty,  to  the 
vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects  of  the  two  Powers,  without 
prejudice  to  the  territorial  claims  of  either  party.  Two  years 
afterwards  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  IIou.sc  of 
R(!presentatives  in  Congress.^  for  un  "  inquiry  as  to  the  situa- 
tion of  the  settlements  on  the  r*aciric  Ocean,  and  as  to  tlio 
expediency  of  occupying  tho  Columbia  River  ;"  and  a  bill 
was  subsequently  brought  in  "  for  the  occupation  of  the 
Columbia,  and  the  regulation  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians  in 
the  territories  of  the  United  States."  The  bill,  however,  was 
sufTcred  to  lie  on  the  table  of  the  House,  and  although  it  was 
again  brought  before  Congress  in  the  ensuing  year,  no  further 
steps  were  taken  until  the  winter  of  1823.  (Greenhow,  p. 
33-2.) 

In  the  mean  time  the  attention  of  both  Powers  was  arrested 
by  the  publication  of  a  Russian  ukase  on   ICth  September 


ir 


,!. 


HE  UNITED 


ussian  Ukase 
ca. — Dcclara- 
RuBsia  and 
laim  set  up  by 
lin  Gray,  and 
le  Mouth  of  a 
h  Objections. 
I  private  En- 
nal  Ship    for 
Answer. — Pre. 
n  1578.— Mr. 
Britain  west- 
States  to  tho 
British  Corn- 
Branch  of  tlie 
to  the  Sea. — 
E)°  to  the  Sea. 


untry  west. 
5en,  for  tho 
jaty,  to  tho 
■s,  without 
Two  years 

House  of 
)  the  situa- 

as  to  tho 
and  a  hill 
on  of  tho 
Indians  in 
ivever,  was 
ugh  it  was 
no  further 
3enhow,  p. 

is  arrested 
September 


DECLAHATION    OP    PIIESIDKXT   MONROE. 


170 


lS21,by  which  an  exclusive  title  was  asserted  in  favour  of 
Russian  subjects  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  as  far 
south  as  51°  north  lat.,  and  all  foreign  vessels  were  prohibited 
from  approaching  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  shore,  under 
penalty  of  confiscation.  Great  Britain  lost  no  time  in  protest- 
ing against  this  edict,  and  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  declined  to  recognise  its  validity.  A  corres- 
pondence ensued  between  Mr.  Adams  and  M.  de  Poletica,  the 
Russian  Minister  at  Washington,  which  may  be  referred  to  in 
the  British  and  Foreign  State  Papers  for  1821-22,  M.  de 
Poletica  alleged,  as  authorising  this  edict  on  the  part  of  the 
Emperor*  first  discovery,  first  occupancy,  and,  in  the  last 
place,  a  peaceable  and  uncontested  possession  of  more  than 
half  a  century.  Both  the  other  Powers,  however,  contested 
the  extent  to  which  so  perfect  a  title  could  be  made  out  by 
Russia,  and  separate  negotiations  were  in  consequence  opened 
between  Russia  and  the  other  two  Powers  for  the  adjustment 
of  their  conflicting  claims.  The  question  was  additionally 
embarrassed  by  a  declaration  on  the  part  of  President  Monroe, 
on  December  2,  1823,  that  the  "American  continents,  by  tho 
free  and  independent  condition  which  they  had  assumed,  were 
henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects  for  colonisation  by 
any  P2uropean  power."  (Greenhow,  p.  325.)  Against  this 
declaration,  both  Russia  and  Great  Britain  formally  protested. 
A  further  ground  of  dissension  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  resulted  from  an  official  paper  laid  before  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  on  February  16,  1824, 
by  General  Jcssup,  the  Quartermastor-General,  in  which  it 
was  proposed  to  establish  certain  military  posts  between 
Ouncil  Bluft's  on  the  Missouri,  and  tho  Pacific,  by  which,  he 
add*,  •' present  protection  wouJd  be  atForded  to  our  traders ; 
and  at  tho  expiration  of  the  privilege  granted  to  British  sub- 
jects to  trade  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  we  should  be 
enabled  to  remove  them  from  our  territory,  and  to  secure  the 
whole  trade  to  our  citizens."  In  the  conference  which  en- 
sued at  London  on  the  following  .fuly,  the  British  commission- 
ers remarked  that  such  observations  "  were  calculated  to  put 
Great  Britain  especially  upon  her  guard,  coming,  as  they  did, 
at  a  moment  when  a  friendly  negotiation  was  ponding  be- 
tween the  two  Powers  for  the  adjustment  of  their  relative  and 
conflicting  claims  to  the  entire  district  of  the  country." 
(Greenhow,  p.  337.) 

Such  proceedings  on  tho  part  of  the  E.xecutive  of  the  United 


J  . ' 


180 


CLAIMS    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


i.  ' 


•]•■■ 


(ft-- 

i 
V    V    ■ 


States  were  not  calculated  to  facilitate  the  settlement  of  tiic 
points  likely  to  become  subjects  of  controversy  in  the  approach- 
ing negotiations,  cither  at  St.  Petcrsburgh  or  at  l^ondon. 
The  instructions  which  were  to  guide  the  commissioners  of 
the  United  States  were  set  forth  by  Mr.  Adams,  in  a  letter  to 
Mr.  Rush,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  London,  of  the 
date  of  July  22,  1823,  which  may  be  referred  to  in  the  British 
and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1825-26,  p.  498.  In  the  previous 
negotiations  of  1818,  as  already  observed,  Messrs.  Gallatin 
and  Rush  "  did  not  assert  a  perfect  right"  to  the  country  west- 
ward of  the  Stony  Mountains,  but  insisted  that  their  claim 
was  "  at  least  good  against  Great  Britain."  The  49th  degree 
of  north  latitude  had,  in  pursuance  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
been  tixed  indefinitely  as  the  line  brtween  the  northern 
British  possessions  and  those  of  Franrc,  including  Louisiana, 
now  a  part  of  our  territories.  There  was  no  reacon  why,  if 
the  two  countries  extended  their  claims  westward,  the  same 
line  should  not  be  continued  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  So  far  as 
discovery  gave  a  claim,  ours  to  the  whole  country  on  the 
waters  of  the  Columbia  Rivor  was  indisputable."  Subsequent- 
ly, however,  to  these  negotiations.  His  Catholic  Majesty  had 
ceded  to  the  United  States,  by  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  of 
February  22,  1819,  commonly  called  the  Florida  Treaty,  "  all 
his  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions  to  any  territory"  north  of 
the  42d  parallel  of  north  latitude  ;  and  Mr.  Rush  opened  the 
negotiations  by  stating,  that  "  the  rights  thus  acquired  from 
Spain  were  regarded  by  the  government  of  the  United  States 
as  surpassing  the  rights  of  all  other  European  Powers  on  that 
coast."  Apart,  however,  from  this  right,  "  the  United  States 
claimed  in  their  own  right,  nd  as  their  absolute  and  exclusive 
sovereignty  and  dominion,  the  whole  of  the  country  west  of 
the  iiocky  Mountains,  from  the  42d  to  at  least  as  far  up  as  the 
61st  degree  of  north  latitude.  This  claim  they  rested  upon 
their  first  discovery  of  the  river  Columbia,  followed  up  by  an 
eflfective  settlement  ai  its  mouth  :  a  settlement  which  was  re- 
duced by  the  arms  of  Britain  (iiiriag  the  late  war,  but  formal- 
ly surrendered  up  to  the  United  States  at  the  return  of  peace. 
"  Their  right  by  first  discovery  they  deemed  peculiarly 
strong,  having  been  made,  not  only  from  the  sea  by  Captain 
Gray,  but  also  from  the  interior  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  who 
first  discovered  its  sources,  and  explored  its  whole  inland 
course  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  had  been  ascertained  that 
the  Columbia  extended,  by  the  River  Multnomah,  tu  as  low 


COLOKIAL    RIGHTS   OF    SPAIN. 


181 


cnt  of  tho 
approach- 
:   London, 
isioners  of 
a  letter  to 
an,  of  the 
the  British 
e  previous 
3.  Gallatin 
ntry  west- 
heir  claim 
9th  degree 
f  Utrecht, 
northern 
Louisiana, 
r>n  why,  if 
,  the  same 
So  far  as 
•y  on   the 
ibsequent- 
ajesty  had 
ington,  of 
eaty,  '*  all 
north  of 
pened  the 
ired  from 
ted  States 
rs  on  that 
ed  States 
exclusive 
■  west  of 
up  as  tho 
ted  upon 
up  by  an 
1  was  rc- 
t  formal- 
of  peace. 
>eculiarly 
Captain 
rke,  who 
inland 
ned  that 
u  as  low 


as  42  degrees  north  ;  and  by  Clarke's  River,  to  a  point  as 
high  up  as  61  degrees,  if  not  beyond  that  point ;  and  to  this 
entire  range  of  country,  contiguous  to  the  original  dominion 
of  the  United  States,  and  made  a  part  of  it  by  the  almost  in- 
termingling  waters  of  each,  the  United  States  considered  their 
title  as  established  by  all  the  principles  that  had  ever  been  ap- 
plied on  this  subject  by  the  Powers  of  Europe  to  settlements 
in  the  American  hemisphere.  I  asserted,"  writes  Mr.  Rush, 
*'  that  a  nation  discovering  a  country,  hy  entering  the  mouth  of 
its  principal  river  at  the  sea  coast,  must  necessarily  be  allowed 
to  claim  and  hold  as  great  an  extent  of  the  interior  country  as 
teas  described  by  the  course  of  such  principal  river  and  its  tribu- 
tary streams ;  and  that  the  claim  to  this  extent  became  doub- 
ly strong,  where,  as  in  the  present  instance,  the  same  river  had 
also  been  explored  from  its  very  mountain-springs  to  the  sea. 
"  Such  an  union  of  titles,  imparting  a  validity  to  each  other, 
did  not  often  exist.  I  remarked,  that  it  was  scarcely  to  be 
presumed  that  any  European  nation  would  henceforth  project 
any  colonial  establishment  on  any  part  of  the  north-west  coast 
of  America,  which  as  yet  had  never  been  used  to  any  other 
useful  purpose  than  that  of  trading  with  the  aboriginal  inhabi- 
tants, or  fishing  in  the  neighbouring  seas  ;  but  that  the  United 
States  should  contemplate,  and  at  one  day  form,  permanent 
establishments  there,  was  naturally  to  be  expected,  as  proxi- 
mate to  their  own  possessions,  and  falling  under  their  imme- 
diate jurisdiction.  Speaking  of  the  Powers  of  Europe,  who 
had  ever  advanced  claims  to  any  part  of  this  coast,  I  referred 
to  the  principles  that  had  been  settled  by  the  Nootka  Sound 
Convention  of  1790,  and  remarked,  that  Spain  had  now  lost 
all  the  exclusive  colonial  rights  that  were  recognised  under  that 
convention,  first,  by  tho  fact  of  the  independence  of  the  South 
American  States  and  of  Mexico,  and  next,  by  her  express  re- 
nunciation of  all  her  rights,  of  whatever  kind,  above  the  42  de- 
gree of  north  latitude,  to  the  United  States.  Those  new 
States  would  themselves  now  possess  the  rights  incident  to 
their  condition  of  political  independence,  and  the  claims  of  the 
United  States  above  the  42  parallel,  as  high  up  as  60°,  claims 
as  well  in  their  own  right  as  by  their  succession  to  the  title  of 
Spain,  would  henceforth  necessarily  preclude  other  nations 
from  forming  colonial  establishments  upon  any  part  of  the 
American  continents.  I  was,  therefore,  instructed  to  say, 
that  my  government  no  longer  considered  any  part  of  those 
continents  as  open  to  future  colonisation  by  any  of  the  Powers 

9 


!:•: 


:m: 


■  ^'^-^fj 


f 

■  1  ' 

j 

i 

t 

■ 

•': 

•1 

i 

1 

4 

i ;. 

i:  :    .  li 

.    f         ,                        i   i 

'  '■  '''?              i 

r.  -^1 

'■  ,  ■■•? 

Il'/:,'    ': 

'  ■  ..} 
1, 

■'\ 


isa 


FKOFOSAL    OF   THE    UNITED    STATL':*. 


of  Europo,  and  that  this  was  a  principle  upon  which  [  shoufd 
insist  in  the  course  of  these  negotiations." 

The  proposal  which  Mr.  Rush  was  authorised  to  make  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  was,  that  for  the  future  no  settle- 
ments should  be  made  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  north 
of  51°,  or  by  British  subjects  soutii  of  51",  inasmuch  as  the 
Columbia  River  branched  as  far  north  as  51°.  Mr.  Adams, 
however,  in  his  instructions,  concludes  with  these  words  : — 
**  As,  however,  the  line  already  runs  in  latitude  49°  to  the  Stony 
Mountains,shouId  it  be  earnestly  insisted  upon  by  Great  Britain, 
we  will  consent  to  carry  it  in  continuance  on  the  same  parallel 
to  the  sea." 

On  the  other  hand  the  British  plenipotentiaries,  on  their 
part,  totally  declined  the  proposaf,  and  totally  denied  the  prin- 
ciples under  which  it  had  been  introduced.  "They  said  that 
Great  Britain  considered  the  whole  of  the  unoccupied  parts  of 
America  as  being  open  to  her  future  settlements,  in  like  man- 
ner as  heretofore.  They  included  within  these  parts,  as  well 
that  portion  of  the  north-west  coast  lying  between  the  42d  and 
51st  degree  of  latitude,  as  any  other  parts.  The  principle  of 
colonisation  on  that  coast,  or  elsewhere,  on  any  portion  of  those 
continents  not  yet  occupied»  Great  Britain  was  not  prepared 
to  rehnquish.  Neither  was  she  prepared  to  accede  to  the  ex- 
clusive claim  of  the  United  States.  She  had  not,  by  her  con- 
vention with  Spain  of  1790,  or  at  any  other  period,  conceded 
to  that  Power  any  exclusive  rights  on  that  coast,  where  ac- 
tual settlements  had  not  been  formed.  She  considered  the 
same  principles  to  be  applicable  to  it  now  as  then.  She  coufd 
not  concede  to  the  United  States,  who  held  the  Spanish  title, 
claims  which  she  had  felt  herself  obliged  to  resist  when  ad- 
vanced  by  Spain,  and  on  her  resistance  to  which  the  credit  of 
Great  Britain  had  been  thought  to  depend. 

"  Nor  could  Great  Britain  at  all  admit,  the  plenipotentiaries 
said,  the  claim  of  the  United  States,  as  founded  on  their  own 
first  discovery.  It  had  been  objectionable  with  her  in  the  ne- 
gotiation of  1818,  and  had  not  been  admitted  since.  Her 
surrender  to  the  United  States  of  the  post  at  Columbia  River 
after  the  late  war,  was  in  fulfilment  of  the  provisions  of  the 
first  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  without  affecting  ques- 
tions of  right  on  either  side.  Britam  did  not  admit  the  validi- 
ty of  the  discovery  by  Captain  Gray.  He  had  only  been  on 
an  enterprise  of  his  own,  as  an  individual,  and  the  Britisli 
government  was  yet  to  be  informed  under  what  principles  or 


\H 


MR.    BUSH  8    REl'LV. 


183 


ch  r  should 

o  make  on 
0  no  settFe- 
tatos  north 
iich  as  the 
Ir.  Adams, 
words  : — 
)  the  Stony 
at  Britain, 
ne  parallel 

s,  on   their 
d  the  prin- 
y  said  that 
ed  parts  of 
like  man- 
ts,  as  weJI 
ic  42d  and 
irinciple  of 
on  of  those 
t  j)repared 
to  the  ex- 
y  her  con- 
conceded 
where  ac- 
idered  the 
She  couid 
anish  title, 
when  ad- 
le  credit  of 

otentiaries 
their  own 
in  the  ne- 
ice.  Her 
bia  River 
ons  of  the 
ing  qiies- 
Ihe  validi- 
y  been  on 
le  Britisi* 
nciptes  or 


usage,  among  the  nations  of  Europe,  his  having  first  entered 
or  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  River  Columbia,  admitting  this 
to  have  been  the  fact,  was  to  carry  after  it  such  a  portion  of 
the  interior  country  as  was  alleged.  Great  Britain  entered 
her  dissent  to  such  a  claim;  and  least  of  all  did  she  admit  that 
the  circumstance  of  a  merchant  vessel  of  the  United  States 
having  peni'trated  the  coast  of  that  continent  at  Columbia 
River,  was  to  be  taken  to  extend  a  claim  in  favour  of  the 
United  States  along  the  same  coast,  both  above  and  below  that 
river,  over  latitudes  that  had  been  previously  discovered  and 
explored  by  Great  Britain  herself,  in  expeditions  fitted  out 
under  the  authority  and  with  the  resources  of  the  nation. 
This  had  been  done  by  Captain  (Jook,  to  speak  of  no  others, 
whose  voyage  was  at  least  prior  to  that  of  Captain  Gray.  On 
the  coast  only  a  few  degrees  south  of  the  Columbia,  Britain 
had  made  purchases  of  territory  from  the  natives  before  the 
United  States  were  an  independent  power ;  and  upon  that  river 
itself  or  upon  rivers  that  flowed  into  it,  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  her  subjects  had  formed  settlements  coeval  with,  if 
not  prior  to,  the  settlement  by  American  citizens  at  its  mouth." 

Such  was  the  tenor  of  the  opening  of  the  negotiations. 
Mr.  Rush,  in  resuming  the  subject,  stated  that  it  "  was  un- 
known  to  his  government  that  Great  Britain  had  ever  even 
advanced  any  claim  to  territory  on  the  north-west  coast  of 
America,  by  the  right  of  occupation,  before  the  Nootka  Sound 
controversy.  It  was  clear,  that  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  of 
1763,  her  territorial  claims  to  America  were  bounded  westward 
by  the  Mississippi.  The  claim  of  the  United  States,  under  the 
discovery  by  Captain  Gray,  was  therefore,  at  all  events,  suffi- 
cient to  overreach,  in  point  of  time,  any  that  Great  Britain 
could  allege  along  that  coast,  on  the  ground  of  prior  occupa- 
lion  or  settlement.  As  to  any  alleged  settlements  by  her  sub- 
jects on  the  Columbia,  or  on  rivers  falling  into  it,  earlier,  or 
as  early,  as  the  one  formed  by  American  citizens  at  Astoria, 
I  knew  not  of  them,  and  was  not  prepared  to  admit  the  fact. 
As  to  the  discovery  itself  of  Capt.  Gray,  it  was  not  for  a  mo- 
ment to  be  drawn  into  question.  It  was  a  fact  before  the 
whole  world.  The  very  geographers  of  Great  Britain  had 
adopted  the  nanie  which  he  had  given  to  this  river." 

Having  alluded  to  the  fact  of  Vancouver  having  found 
Captain  Gray  there,  Mr.  Rush  proceeded  to  meet  the  objec- 
tion that  the  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River  was  not  made 
by  a  national  ship,  or  under  national  authority.  "  The  United 


/■■ 


ll 


.  I 


194 


DISCOVERT    BY    CAl'TAIN    GRAY. 


•■  r- 


' '  < 


M  "■ 


%\ 


■I', 


§ 
■.■it',1 


l§ 


States,"  he  said,  '*  could  admit  of  no  such  distinction  ;  could 
never  surrender,  under  it  or  upon  nny  ground,  their  claim  to 
this  discovery.  The  ship  of  Captain  Gray,  whether  fitted  out 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  noi,  was  vl  national 
ship.  If  she  was  not  so  in  a  technical  sense  of  ihe  word,  she 
was  in  the  full  sense  of  it,  applicable  to  such  an  occasion.  She 
bore  at  her  stern  the  flag  of  the  nation,  sailed  forth  under  the 
protection  of  the  nation,  and  was  to  be  identified  with  the 
rights  of  the  nation.'' 

"The  extent  of  this  interior  country  attaching  to  this  dis- 
covery  was  founded,"  Mr.  Rush  contended,  "  upon  a  principle 
at  once  reasonable  and  moderate  :  reasonable,  because,  as 
discovery  was  not  to  be  limited  to  the  local  spot  of  a  first 
landing-place,  there  must  bo  a  rule  both  for  enlarging  and 
circumscribing  its  range ;  and  none  more  proper  than  that  of 
taking  the  water-courses  which  nature  has  laid  down,  both  as 
the  fair  limits  of  the  country,  and  as  indispensable  to  its  use 
and  value  ;  moderate,  because  the  nations  of  Europe  had 
often,  under  their  rights  of  discovery,  carried  their  claims 
much  farther.  Ilore  I  instanced,  as  sufficient  for  my  purpose, 
and  pertinent  to  it,  the  terms  in  which  many  of  the  royal 
charters  and  letters  pitcnt  had  been  granted,  by  the  Crown 
of  England,  to  individuals  proceeding  to  the  discovery  or  set- 
t^cment  o^  i.ew  countries  on  the  American  continent.  Amongst 
others,  those  from  Elizabeth  in  1578,  to  Sir  Humphery  Gil- 
bert, and  in  15S4,  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  :  those  from  James 
I.  to  Sir  Thomas  Yates,  in  1606  and  1607,  and  the  Georgia 
charter  of  1732.  By  the  words  of  the  last,  a  grant  is  passed 
to  all  territories  along  the  sea-coast,  from  the  River  Savannah 
to  the  most  southern  stream  '  of  another  great  river,  called 
the  Alatamaha,  and  westward  from  the  heads  of  the  said 
rivers  in  a  direct  line  to  the  South  Seas.'  To  show  that 
Britain  was  not  the  only  European  nation,  who,  in  her  terri- 
torial claims  on  this  continent,  had  had  an  eye  to  the  rule  of 
assuming  water-courses  to  be  the  fittest  boundaries,  I  also 
cited  the  charter  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat,  by  which  'all  the 
country  drained  by  the  waters  emptying  directly  or  indirectly 
into  ihe  Mississippi,'  is  declared  to  be  comprehended  under 
the  name,  and  within  the  limits  of  Louisiana." 

In  respect  to  the  title  derived  by  the  United  States  from 
Spain,  Mr.  Rush  contended  that,  "if  Great  Britain  had  put 
forth  no  claims  on  the  north-west  coast,  founded  on  prior 
occupation^  still  less  could  she  ever  have  established  any,  at 


nction ;  could 
their  claim  to 
ither  fitted  out 
was  a  national 
i'txa  word,  she 
occasion.  She 
>rth  under  the 
ified  with  the 

)g  to  this  dis- 

on  a  principle 

,  because,  as 

)ot  of  a  first 

snlargingr  and 

r  than  that  of 

iown,  both  as 

ible  to  its  use 

Europe   had 

their  clain;s 

r  my  purpose, 

of  the  royal 

y  the  Crown 

covery  or  scU 

nt.   Amongst 

miphery  Gil- 

from  James 

the  Georgia 

ant  is  passed 

^er  Savannah 

river,  called 

of  the  said 

'o  show  that 

in  her  terri- 

0  the  rule  of 
aries,  I  also 
hich  'all  the 

or  indirectly 
ended  under 

1  States  from 
ain  had  put 
ded  on  prior 
ished  any,  at 


CLAIM    OF   THE    UXITED    STATES. 


185 


any  period,  founded  on  prior  (liscovfry.  The  superior  title  of 
Spain  on  this  ground,  as  well  as  others,  was  indeed  capable 
of  demonstration."  Russia  had  arknowhdiicd  it  in  1790,  as  tiio 
State  Papers  of  the  Xootka  Sound  controversy  would  show. 
The  memorial  of  the  Spanish  Court  to  the  British  minister 
on  that  occasion  expressly  asserted,  that  notwithstanding  all 
the  attempted  encroachments  upon  the  Spanish  coasts  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  Spain  had  preserved  her  possessions  there  en- 
tire,—  possessions  which  she  had  constantly,  and  before  all 
Europe,  on  that  and  other  occasions,  declared  to  extend  to  as 
high  at  least  as  the  60th  degree  of  north  latitude.  The  very 
first  article  of  the  Nootka  Sound  Convention  attested,  I 
said,  the  superiority  of  her  title  ;  fo  lilst  by  it  the  nations 
of  Europe  generally  were  allowed  .  make  settlements  on 
that  coast,  it  was  only  for  the  purposes  of  trade  with  the  na- 
tives, thereby  excluding  the  right  of  any  exclusive  or  colonial 
establishments  for  other  purposes.  As  to  any  claim  on  the 
part  of  Britain  under  the  voyage  of  Captain  Cook,  I  re- 
marked that  this  was  sufficiently  superseded  (passing  by  every 
thing  else)  by  the  Journal  of  the  Spanish  expedition  from 
San  Bias  in  177.5,  kept  by  Don  Antonio  Maurelle,  for  an  ac- 
count of  which  I  referred  the  British  plenipotentiaries  to  the 
work  of  Daincs  Barrington,  a  British  author.  In  that  expe- 
dition, consisting  of  a  frigate  and  a  schooner,  fitted  out  by 
the  Viceroy  of  Mexico,  the  north-west  coast  was  visited  in 
latitude  45,  47,  49,  53,  5.5,  50, 57,  and  58  degrees,  not  one  of 
which  points  there  was  good  reason  for  believing  had  ever 
been  explored,  or  as  much  as  seen,  up  to  that  day,  by  any 
navigator  of  Great  Britain.  There  was,  too,  I  said,  the 
voyage  of  Juan  Perez,  prior  to  1775  ;  that  of  Aguilar,  in 
icbl,  who  explored  that  coast  in  latitude  45°;  that  of  De  Fuca 
in  1592,  who  explored  it  in  latitude  48=,  giving  the  name, 
which  they  still  bore,  to  the  straits  in  that  latitude,  without 
going  through  a  much  longer  list  of  other  early  Spanish 
navigators  in  that  sea,  whose  discoveries  were  confessedly  of 
a  nature  to  put  out  of  view  those  of  all  other  nations.  I 
finished  by  saying,  that  in  the  opinion  of  my  government, 
the  title  to  the  United  States  to  the  whole  of  that  coast, 
from  latitude  42°  to  as  far  north  as  latitude  60°,  was  there- 
fore superior  to  that  of  Great  Britain  or  any  other  Power  ; 
first,  through  the  proper  claim  of  the  United  States  by  dis- 
covery and  settlement,  and  secondly,  as  now  standing  in  tho 
place  of  Spain,  and  holding  in  thei.r  hands  all  her  title." 


^. 


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nniTISIl    REPLY. 


The  British  plenipotentiaries,  in  their  reply,  "  repeated 
their  animated  denials  of  the  title  of  the  United  States,  as 
alleged  to  have  been  acquired  by  themselves,  enlarging  and 
insisting  upon  their  objections  to  it,  as  already  stated.  Nor 
were  they  less  decided  in  their  renewed  impeachments  of 
the  title  of  Spain.  They  said  that  it  was  well  known  to 
them  what  had  formerly  been  the  pretensions  of  Spain  to 
absolute  sovereignty  and  dominion  in  the  South  Seas,  and 
over  all  the  shores  of  America  which  they  washed  :  but  that 
these  were  pretensions  which  Britain  had  never  admitted : 
on  the  contrary,  had  strenuously  resisted  them.  They  re- 
ferred to  the  note  of  the  British  minister  to  the  Court  of 
Spain,  of  May  16,  1790,  in  which  Britain  had  not  only  as- 
serted a  full  right  to  an  uninterrupted  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion in  the  Pacific,  but  also  that  of  forming,  with  the  coiisent 
of  the  natives,  whatever  establishments  she  thought  proper 
on  the  north-west  coast,  in  parts  not  already  occupied  by 
other  nations.  This  had  been  the  doctrine  of  Great  Britain, 
and  from  it,  nothing  that  was  due  in  her  estimation  to  other 
Powers,  now  called  upon  her  in  any  degree  to  depart. 

"  As  to  the  alleged  prior  discoveries  of  Spain  all  along  that 
coast,  Britain  did  not  admit  them  but  with  .<Treat  qualification. 
She  could  never  admit  that  the  mere  fact  of  Spanish  naviga- 
tors having  first  seen  the  coast  at  particular  points,  even 
where  this  was  capable  of  being  substantiated  as  the  fact, 
without  any  subsequent  or  efficient  acts  of  sovereignty  or 
settlement  on  the  part  of  Spain,  was  sufficient  to  exclude  all 
other  nations  from  that  portion  of  the  globe.  Besides,  they 
said,  even  on  the  score  of  prior  discovery  on  that  coast,  at 
least  as  far  up  as  48"^  north  latitude,  Britain  herself  had  a 
claim  over  all  other  nations.  '*  Here  they  referred  to  Drake's 
expedition  in  1578,  who,  as  they  said,  explored  that  coast  on 
the  part  of  England,  from  37°  to  48°  N.,  making  formal 
claim  to  these  limits  in  the  name  of  Elizabeth,  and  giving 
the  name  of  New  Albion  to  all  the  country  which  they  com- 
prehended. Was  this,  they  asked,  to  be  reputed  nothing  in 
the  comparison  of  prior  discoveries,  and  did  it  not  even  take 
in  a  large  part  of  the  very  coast  now  claimed  by  the  United 
States,  as  of  prior  discovery  on  their  side  ?  " 

Mr.  Rush  in  reply  contended,  *'  as  to  Drake,  although 
Fleurieu,  in  his  introduction  to  Marchand,  did  assert  that  he 
got  as  far  north  as  48°,  yet  Hakluyt,  who  wrote  about  the 
time  that  Drake  flourished,  informs  us  that  he  got  no  higher 


VALLEY    OF   THE    COLUMBIA. 


187 


repeated 
States,  as 
ging  and 
ed.  Nor 
ments  of 
mown  to 
Spain  to 
>cas,  and 

but  that 
idmitted : 
They  re- 
Court  of 

only  as- 
1  naviga- 
5  co;isent 
it  proper 
jpied  by 
t  Britain, 

to  other 

long  that 
ification. 
I  naviga- 
ts,  even 
the  fact, 
)ignty  or 
elude  all 
es,  they 
coast,  at 
If  had  a 
t  Drake's 
coast  on 
I  formal 
d  giving 
ley  corn- 
thing  in 
^en  take 
3  United 

although 
;  that  he 
)out  the 
0  higher 


than  43°,  having  put  back  at  that  point  from  extremity  of 
cold.     All  the  later  authors  or  i  ompilcrs,  also,  who  spoke  of 
his  voyage,  however  they  uiight  ditfer  as   to  the  degree   of 
latitude  to  which  he  went,  adopted  from  Hakluyt  this  fact,  of 
his  having  turned  back  from  intensity  of  weather.     The  pre- 
ponderancc  of  probability,  therefore,  I  alleged,  as  well  as  of 
authority  was,  that  Drake  did  not  get  beyond  43°  along  that 
coast.     At  all  events,  it  was  certain  that  he  had  made  no 
settlements  there,  and  the  absence  of  these  would,  under  the 
doctrine  of  great  Britain,  as  applied  by  her  to  Spain,  prevent 
any   title  whatever   attaching  to  his  supposed  discoveries. 
They  were  moreover  p<it  out  of  view  by  the  treaty  of  1763, 
by  which  Great  Britain  agreed  to  consider  the  Mississippi  as 
the  western  boundary  upon  that  continent. 

He  concluded  with  re-asserting  formally,  "  the  full  and  ex- 
clusive sovereignty  of  the  United  States  over  the  whole  of 
the  territory  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  washed  by  the 
Columbia  River,  in  manner  and  extent  as  stated,  subject,  of 
course,  to  whatever  existing  conventional  arrangements  they 
may  have  formed  in  regard  to  it  with  other  Powers.  Their 
title  to  this  whole  country  they  considered  as  not  to  be  shaken. 
It  had  often  been  proclaimed  in  the  legislative  discussions  of 
the  nation,  and  was  afterwards  public  before  the  world.  Its 
broad  and  stable  foundations  were  laid  in  the  first  uncontra- 
dicted discovery  of  that  river,  both  at  its  mouth  and  its 
source,  followed  up  by  an  effective  settlement,  and  that  settle- 
ment the  earliest  ever  made  upon  its  banks.  If  a  title  in  the 
United  States,  thus  transcendant,  needed  confirmation,  it 
might  be  sought  in  their  now  uniting  to  it  the  title  of  Spain. 
It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  United  States,  I  remarked,  to 
repose  upon  any  of  the  extreme  pretensions  of  that  Power  to 
fipeculative  dominion  in  those  seas,  which  grew  up  in  less  en- 
lightened  ages,  however  countenanced  in  those  ages  ;  nor  had 
I,  as  their  plenipotentiary,  sought  any  aid  from  such  preten- 
sions;  but  to  the  extent  of  the  just  claims  of  Spain,  ground- 
ed upon  her  fair  enterprise  and  resources,  at  periods  when  her 
renown  for  both  filled  all  Europe,  the  United  States  had  suc- 
ceeded, and  upon  claims  of  this  character  it  had,  therefore, 
become  as  well  their  right  as  their  duty  to  insist." 

The  British  plenipotentiaries,  in  conclusion,  with  a  view 
as  they  said  of  laying  a  foundation  of  harmony  between  the 
two  governments,  proposed  that  the  third  article  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1818  should  now  terminate.     That  "  the  boun- 


'fi 


188 


CODIfTER-PROPOBAL    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


clary  line  between  the  territories  respectively  clnimed  by  the 
two  Powers,  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  should  be 
drawn  due  west,  along  the  49lh  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the 
point  where  it  strikes  the  north-easternmost  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  and  thence  down  along  the  middle  of  the  Colum- 
bia to  the  Pacific  Ocean  :  the  navigation  of  this  river  to  be 
for  ever  free  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  both  nations." 
They  remarked,  "  that  in  submitting  it,  they  considered  Great 
Britain  as  departing  largely  from  the  full  extent  of  her  right, 
and  that,  if  accepted  by  the  United  States,  it  would  impose 
upon  her  the  necessity  of  breaking  up  four  or  five  settlements, 
formed  by  her  subjects  within  the  limits  that  would  become 
prohibited,  and  that  they  had  formed,  under  the  belief  of  their 
lull  rights  as  British  subjects  to  settle  there.  But  their  gov- 
ernment was  willing,  they  said,  to  make  these  surrenders,  for 
so  they  considered  them,  in  a  spirit  of  compromise^  on  points 
where  the  two  nations  stood  so  divided." 

Mr.  Rush,  in  reply,  declared  his  utter  inability  to  accept 
such  a  proposal,  and  in  return  consented,  "  in  compliance 
with  this  spirit,  and  in  order  to  meet  Great  Britain  on  ground 
that  might  be  deemed  middle,  to  vary  so  far  the  terms  of  his 
own  proposal,  as  to  shift  the  southern  line  as  low  as  49°  in 
place  of  51°."  "I  desired  it,"  he  writes,  "to  be  understood, 
that  this  was  the  extreme  limit  to  which  I  was  authorised  to 
go ;  and  that,  in  being  willing  to  make  this  change,  I,  too, 
considered  the  United  States  as  abating  their  rights?  in  the 
hope  of  being  able  to  put  an  end  to  all  conflict  of  claims 
between  the  two  nations  to  the  coast  and  country  in  dispute." 

The  British  commissioners  declined  acceding  to  this  pro- 
posal, and  as  neither  party  was  disposed  to  make  any  modifi- 
cation in  their  ultimatum,  the  negotiation  was  brought  to  a 
close. 


; 


i9» 


189 


icd  by  the 
should  be 
de,  to  the 
:h   of  the 
e  Colum- 
ver  to  be 
nations." 
red  Great 
her  right, 
d   impose 
ticments, 
d  become 
f  of  their 
heir  gov- 
iders,  for 
:>n  points 

o  accept 
mpliance 
n  ground 
ns  of  his 
is  49°  in 
derstood, 
orised  to 
B,  I,  too, 
tS)  in  the 
)f  claims 
dispute.'* 
this  pro- 
^  modifi. 
ght  to  a 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EXAMINATION  OF  THE  CLAIMS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Exclusive  Sovereignty  for  the  first  Time  claimed  by  the  United  Stalea 
over  the  Valley  of  the  Columbia. — The  Statements  relied  upon  to  sup- 
port this,  not  correct.— The  Multnomah  River  erroneously  laid  down 
in  Maps. — Willamette  Settlement —Source  of  the  Multnomah,  or  Wil- 
lamette,  in  about  43°  45'  N.  L. — Clarke's  River. — Source  in  4G° 
30'.  —The  Nortliernmost  Branch  of  the  Columbia  discovered  and  explor- 
ed by  Mr.  Thomson. — The  Pacific  Fur  Company  not  authorised  by  tiic 
United  States  Government. — Tiic  American  Fur  Company,  chartered 
by  the  State  of  New  York  in  18U9,  a  different  Company  for  a  different 
Purpose. — The  Association  dissolved  at  Astoria  before  the  Arrival  of  H. 
B.  M.'s  Sloop  of  War  the  Racoon. — Protoction  of  the  National  Flag. — 
Vattel. — Kluber — Letter  from  Mr.  Gallatin  to  Mr.  Astor. — A  Commis- 
sion from  the  Stat*  required  in  respect  of  acquiring  Territory. — Title  by 
Discovery  of  the  Mouth  of  a  River. — Rivers  Appendages  to  a  Territory. 
— Vattel. — Common  Use  of  great  Rivers. — Mr.  Wheaton. — Effect  of 
the  Principle  to  make  the  Highlands,  not  the  Water  Courses,  the  Boun- 
daries.— Different  Principle  advanced  by  Messrs.  Pickncy  &  Monroe,  in 
1805,  founded  on  Extent  of  Sea  Coast. — Vattel. — Charters  of  Georgia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Carolina. — Crozat's  Grant  opposed  to  the  Spanish 
Discovery  of  ti.c  Mississippi. — Inconvenience  in  applying  the  Principle. 
— Conflict  of  Titles. — Course  of  the  Columbia  River. — Valley  of  the 
Columbia  River  docs  not  extend  across  the  Cascade  Range,  on  the  North 
Side  of  the  River. — Derivative  Title  of  the  United  States  from  Spam. — 
Spanish  Vtrsioni  in  1790,  of  Encroachments  by  Russia. — The  Russian 
Statement. — The  Russian  American  Company,  in  1799. — LordStowell. 
— Discoveries  require  Notification. — The  Convention  of  the  Escurial 
admitted  to  contain  Recognitions  of  Rights. — Meaning  of  the  Word 
"  Settlements." 

It  will  have  been  seen  in  the  previous  chapter  that  Messrs. 
Hush  and  Gallatin,  in  the  negotiations  of  18'23-24,  no  longer 
confined  themselves  to  the  assertion  of  an  imperfect  right 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  good  at  least  against  Great 
Britain,  as  in  the  negotiations  of  1818,  but  set  up  a  claim  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  in  their  own  right,to  absolute  and 
exclusive  sovereignty  and  dominion  over  the  whole  of  the 
country  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  42°  to  at 
least  as  high  up  as  51°.  This  claim  they  rested  upon  their 
first  discovery  of  the  River  Columbia,  followed  up  by  an 
effective  settlement  at  its  mouth. 

In  resjiect  to  the  discovery  of  the  river,  they  alleged  the 

9* 


■  M 


.. 


190 


SOURCE    OF   THE    MULTNOMAH    RIVER. 


\     ■ 


.  ■    i 


samn  facts  as  in  l'^18,  namely,  tliat  Captain  Gray,  in  tlio 
American  ship  Columbia,  lirst  discovered  and  entered  its 
moutii,  and  that  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  first  explored  it 
from  its  sources  to  the  ocean.  In  respect  to  settlement,  the 
establishment  at  Astoria  was,  as  before,  relied  upon,  having 
been  formally  surrendered  up  to  the  United  States  at  the  re- 
turn of  peace. 

'J'hc  American  plenipotentiaries  j^rounded  the  extent  of  the 
exclusive  claim  of  the  United  States,  in  their  own  rii^ht,  upon 
the  fact  that  "it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  Columbia  ex- 
tended by  the  River  Multnomah  to  as  low  as  42°  north,  and 
by  Clarke's  River  to  a  point  as  high  u[  as  51°,  if  not  beyond 
that  point."  In  the  first  place,  then,  neither  of  these  state- 
ments is  correct.  The  erroneous  notions  respecting  the 
Multnomah  River  have  been  already  alluded  to  in  the  chapter 
upon  the  Treaty  of  Washington.  To  a  similar  purport,  in 
the  map  prefixed  to  Lewis  and  Clarke's  Travels,  we  find  the 
source  of  the  Multnomah  laid  down  in  38°  45'  north  latitude, 
115°  45'  west  longitude  from  Greenwich,  the  river  being  re- 
preeonted  to  run  a  due  north-west  course,  and  to  empty  itself 
into  the  Columbia  within  about  140  miles  of  the  sea.  In 
the  narrative  of  the  expedition,  Chapter  XX.,  it  is  expressly 
stated,  that  they  passed  the  inouth  of  this  river  in  their  way 
down  the  Columbia  to  the  Pacific,  and  afterwards  found  it  to 
be  the  Multnomah  ;  and  in  Chapter  XXV.  it  is  said  that  "the 
Indians  call  it  Multnomah  from  a  nation  of  the  same  name, 
residing  near  it,  on  VVappatoo  Island."  This  Island  lies  in 
the  immediate  mouth  of  the  river,  dividing  the  channel  into 
two  parts.  Now  this  river  is  the  modern  Willamette,  which 
enters  the  Columbia  from  the  south,  about  five  miles  below 
Fort  Vancouver,  about  eighty-five  miles  from  the  sea,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Dunn,  and  in  the  valley  of  this  river,  in  a  very  fer- 
tile district,  about  fifty  miles  from  its  entrance  into  the  Colum- 
bia, is  the  Willamette  Settlement,  where  the  majority  of  the 
colonists  from  the  United  States  are  located,  though  accord- 
ing to  Commander  Wilkes'  account,  (vol.  iv.,  chap,  x.,  p.  349, 
8vo.  ed.,)  many  of  the  farms  belong  to  Canadians  who  have 
been  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Actual 
survey,  as  may  be  seen  from  Commander  Wilkes'  map,  has 
determined  that  the  southernmost  source  of  the  Multnomah, 
or  Willamette,  is  in  about  43°  45'  N.  L. 

In  respect  to  Clarke's  River,  the  map  of  Lewis  and  Clarke 
places  the  highest  source  of  it  in  about  45°  30',  whilst  Com. 


,  in  tho 
crcd  its 
plored  it 
cnt,  the 
having 
tho   re. 


nt  of  tho 
ht,  upon 
iibia  ex- 
rth,  and 
:  bcvond 
so  state* 
ing  the 

chapter 
port,  in 
find  tho 
atitude, 
cing  rc- 
ty  itself 
oa.     In 
icpressly 
leir  way 
ind  it  to 
lat  » the 
3  name, 
d  lies  in 
nel  into 
!,  which 
IS  below 
accord- 
ery  fer- 
Colum- 

of  the 
accord- 
p.  349, 
\o  have 
Actual 
ip,  has 
nomah, 

Clarke 
\  Com. 


rAr  iric  Yvn  comtanv, 


191 


mander  Wilkes'  map  dotormincs  it  to  be  in  about  40*^  30'.  It 
i3  the  same  as  tho  Fl.ithrad  ltivor,and  it  joins  the  mainstream 
of  the  Columbia  a  little  below  the  4i)th  parallel.  It  thus  ap- 
pears that  neither  of  the  rivers  upon  wiiich  Mr.  Rush  relied, 
supports  his  claim  to  the  c.\tont  which  ho  maintained.  Had 
he  grounded  the  title  of  the  United  t^tntos  towards  the  south 
upon  the  source  of  the  Lewis  or  Snake  River,  which  he  may 
possibly  have  intended  to  do,  this  would  have  given  him  tho 
42d  parallel  to  commence  with,  and  Clarke's  River  would 
have  carried  the  claim  of  the  United  States  u|>  to  very  nearly 
49"^  at  its  iunctton  with  the  northern  branch,  but  no  higher. 
Lewis  and  Clarke  saw  nothing,  and  knew  nothing,  of  the 
northernmost  branch  of  the  (,'olumbia,  which  Mr.  Thomson, 
the  astronomer  of  the  North-west  Company,  first  explored  to 
its  junction  with  Clarke's  River,  and  thence  to  the  sea,  in 
18 11,  as  already  (p.  '-31)  detailed. 

In  reference  to  ilie  settlement  of  Astoria,  on  the  southern 
bank  of  the  Columbia,  at  its  mouth,  the  Pacific  Fur  Company 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  authorised  by  the  United  Statea 
Government  to  make  any  elfective  settlement  there.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  asserted  by  writers  in  the  United  States,  who, 
it  may  be  presumed,  are  well  informed  on  the  subject,  and 
the  Charleston  Mercury  of  October  11,  1845,  expressly  as- 
sorts  the  fact, — "  that  the  United  States  Government,  though 
earnestly  solicited  by  Mr.  Astor,  refused  to  authorise  or  sanc- 
tion his  expedition."  Mr.  Astor  himself  states,  in  his  letter 
of  January  4,  1823,  to  Mr.  Adams,  quoted  by  Mr.  Greenhow 
in  his  Appendix,  p.  441,  that  it  was  as  late  as  February  1813, 
when  he  made  an  application  to  the  Secretary  of  State  at 
Washington,  but  no  reply  was  given  to  it.  In  addition,  al- 
though Mr.  Astor,  according  to  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  ob- 
tained a  charter  from  the  State  of  New  York  in  1809,  incor- 
porating a  company  under  the  name  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  this  was  intended  to  carry  on  the  fur  trade  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  and  was  a  totally  distinct  speculation  from 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  wiiich  was  not  formed  before  July 
1810,  and  was  a  purely  voluntary  association  for  commercial 
purposes,  consisting  of  ten  partners,  of  whom  Mr.  Astor  was 
the  chief.  Of  these,  however,  six  were  British  subjects,  who, 
according  to  Mr.  Greenhow,  p.  294,  communicated  the  plan 
of  the  enterprise  to  the  British  minister  at  Washington,  and 
were  assured  by  him,  "  that  in  case  of  a  war  between  the 
two  nations  they  would  be  respected  as  British  subjects  and 


t' 


192 


ASSOCIATION    AT    ASTORIA    DISSOLVED. 


1 


I 


wt    . 


■*^i 

merchants,^'  Such  a  body  of  traders  could  hardly  be  consid- 
ered to  invest  their  settlement  at  Astoria  with  any  distinct 
national  character,  much  less  to  represent  the  sovereignty  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  so  as,  in  taking  possession  of 
a  portion  of  territory  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  to  ac- 
quire for  the  United  States  the  empire  or  sovereignty  of  it,  at 
the  same  time  with  the  domain. 

It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  was 
a  purely  voluntary  association,  a  mercantile  firm  in  fact,  not 
incorporated,  as  the  American  Fur  Company  had  been,  by  an 
Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  nor,  though 
countenanced  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  as  it 
well  deserved  to  be,  in  any  respect  authorised  by  it.     "  The 
association,"  according  to  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  "  if  suc- 
cessful, was  to  continue  for  twenty  years,  but  the  parties  had 
full  power  to  abandon  and  dissolve  it  within  the  first  five  years, 
should  it  be  found  unprofitable."     And  thus,  we  find,  that  the 
association  was  dissolved  by  the  unanimous  act  of  the  pait- 
ners  present  at  Astoria  on  the  1st  of  July  1813,  and  the  es- 
tablishment itself,  with  the  furs  and  stock  in  hand,  transfer- 
red by  sale  on  the  6th  of  October  to  the  North-west  Company, 
so  that  when  the  British  sloop-of-war  the  Racoon  arrived  on 
the  1st  of  December,  the  settlement  at  Astoria  was  the  pro- 
perty of  the  North-west  Company.     Captain  Black,  formally 
took  possession  of  Astoria  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  Ma- 
jesty, according  to  the  narrative  of  Mr.  John  Ross  Cox,  and 
having   hoisted  the   British  ensign,  named   it  Fort  George. 
There  is  no  mention  however  of  the  flag  of  the  United  States 
having  been  struck  on  this  occasion.     Thus,  indeed,  the  ter- 
riiory  was  for  the  first  time  taken  possession  of  by  a  person 
*^  furnished  with  a  commission  from  his  sovereign,'^  and  from 
this  time  Astoria  became  a  settlement  of  the  British  Crown, 
not  by  the  rights  of  war,  but  by  a  national  act  of  taking  pos- 
session.     At  a  subsequent  period,  however,  upon  the  represen- 
tation of  the  Government  of  the  United   States,  the  British 
Government,  in  conformity,  as  it  was  led  to  suppose,  to  the 
first  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  directed  the  settlement 
of  Fort  George  to  be  restored  to  the  United  States.     The 
British  ensign  was  then  formally  struck,  and  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  hoisted.     By  this  act  of  cession  on  the  part  of 
the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  subsequent  taking  pos- 
session of  the  place  by  Mr.  Prevost,  as  agent  for  the  United 
States,  Astoria  for  the  first  time  acquired  the  national  charac- 


THE    STATE    MUST   TAKE    POSSESSION. 


193 


e  consid* 

distinct 

cignty  of 

ession  of 

to  ac- 

of  it,  at 

)any  was 
fact,  not 
n,  by  an 
r,  though 
tcs,  as  it 
"  The 
"  if  sue. 
rties  had 
ve  years, 
that  the 
he  part- 
I  the  es- 
transfer- 
ompany, 
rrived  on 
the  pro- 
formally 
inic  Ma- 
^oxy  and 
George, 
jd  States 
.  the  ter- 
a  person 
md  from 
I  Crown, 
ing  pos- 
epresen- 
e  British 
e,  to  the 
ttlemcnt 
s.  The 
g  of  the 
B  part  of 
ing  pos- 
3  United 
charac- 


ter of  a  settlement  of  the  United  States  ;  and  though  the 
facts  of  the  case,  when  better  understood,  might  not  have 
brought  \storia  within  the  scope  of  the  first  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent,  still  the  act  of  cession,  having  been  a  vol- 
untary act  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government,  would 
carry  with  it  analogous  consequences  to  those  which  followed 
the  restoration  of  the  settlement  at  Nootka  Sound,  on  the  part 
of  Spain,  to  Great  Britain,  by  virtue  of  the  first  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  the  Escurial.  From  this  period,  then,  the  first  au- 
thoritative occupation  of  any  portion  of  the  Oregon  territory 
by  the  United  States  is  to  be  dated. 

But  it  was  alleged  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  that  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  river  had  been  first  discovered  and 
entered  by  Captain  Gray,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  in  a 
vessel  sailing  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States:  and  when 
it  was  urged  by  the  British  commissioners  that  the  discovery 
was  not  made  by  a  national  ship,  or  under  national  authority, 
it  was  stated  by  Mr.  Rush,  that  "  the  United  States  could  ad- 
mit no  such  distinction,  could  never  surrender  under  it,  or 
upon  any  ground,  their  claim  to  this  discovery.  The  ship  of 
Captain  Gray,  whether  fitted  out  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States  or  not,  was  a  national  ship.  If  she  was  not  so 
in  a  technical  sense  of  the  word,  she  was  in  the  full  sense  of  it 
applicable  to  such  an  occasion.  She  bore  at  her  stern  the  tlag 
of  the  nation,  sailed  forth  under  the  protection  of  the  nation, 
and  was  to  be  identified  with  the  rights  of  the  nation." 

The  doctrine  adduced  in  the  above  passage  is  not  in  accord- 
ance either  with  the  practice  of  nations,  or  the  principles  of 
natural  law.  The  occasion  here  contempla^"?]  was  the  dis- 
covery of  a  country  with  a  view  of  taking  ^  obsession  of  it. 
The  practice  of  nations,  according  to  Vattcl,  Uns  usually  res- 
pected such  a  discovery,  when  made  by  navigators  furnished 
icith  a  comtnission  from  their  sovereitrn,  but  not  otherwise  ; 
and  according  to  Kluber,  in  order  that  an  act  of  occupation 
should  be  legitimate, — and  the  same  observation  applies  to  all 
the  acts  which  are  accessorial  to  occupation, — the  slate  ought 
to  have  the  intention  of  taking  possession.  It  may  be  per- 
fectly true  that  a  merchant  vessel,  sailing  under  the  flag  of  a 
nation,  is  under  the  protection  of  the  nation,  and  is  to  be  iden- 
tified with  the  rights  of  the  nation,  within  the  limits  of  its  own 
proper  character,  that  is,  for  all  the  purposes  of  commerce, 
but  not  beyond  those  limits  :  the  flag,  indeed,  entitles  it  to 
all  the  privileges  which  the  nation  has  secured  to  her  citizens 


f 

I 


•.'  f. 


i 


i    « 


"«■  'i 


, 


i  ? 


194 


MR.  GALLATIN  S    LETTBH. 


by  Iroalics  of  commerce,  but  tho  ship  is  the  property  of  indi- 
vidimln,  and  the  captain  is  only  the  agent  of  the  owners:  ho 
possossos  no  authority  from  the  nation,  unhkc  the  captain  of  a 
vessel  of  tiic  state,  who  is  the  agent  of  the  state,  and  for  whose 
acts  the  state  is  responsible  towards  other  states.  The  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,  however,  did  not  consider,  about 
the  time  of  these  transactions  at  Astoria,  that  a  trading  ves- 
sel, sailing  under  the  command  of  a  private  citizen,  could 
claim  the  protection  of  the  (lag  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
a  ship  of  the  state  possesses  it,  under  the  command  of  a  com- 
missioned officer.  Mr.  Washington  Irving  has  annexed,  in 
the  Appendix  to  his  "  Astoria,"  a  letter  from  Mr.  Gallatin 
himself,  addressed  to  Mr.  Astor,  in  August  6,  1835: — "  Dur- 
ing that  period  I  visited  Washington  twice — in  October  or 
November  1815,  and  in  March  1816.  On  one  of  these  two 
occasions,  and  1  believe  on  the  last,  you  mentioned  to  me  that 
you  were  disposed  once  more  to  renew  the  attempt  and  to  re- 
establish  Astoria,  provided  you  had  the  protection  of  the  Ameri- 
can Jla^  :  for  which  purpose  a  lieutenant^ s  command  would 
be  suflicient  to  you.  You  requested  me  to  mention  this  to 
the  President,  which  I  did.  Mr.  Madison  said  he  would  con- 
sider the  subject ;  and,  although  he  did  not  commit  himself, 
I  thought  that  he  received  the  proposal  favourably."  This 
distinction,  which  the  highest  authorities  in  the  United  States 
seem  at  that  time  to  have  fully  appreciated,  between  the  pro- 
tection  of  the  national  flag  in  respect  of  acquiring  territory, 
and  the  protection  of  it  in  respect  of  carrying  on  commerce, 
namely,  that  a  commission  from  the  state  is  required  to  convey 
the  former,  whilst  the  latter  is  enjoyed  at  his  own  will  by  every 
citizen,  is  seemingly  at  variance  with  Mr.  Rush's  remarks. 

The  principle,  however,  upon  which  Captain  Gray's  dis- 
covery,  on  the  hypothesis  that  it  was  a  national  discovery, 
was  alleged  to  lead  to  such  important  consequences,  was 
thus  stated : — "I  asserted,"  writes  Mr.  Rush,  **that  a  na- 
tion discovering  a  country  by  entering  the  mouth  of  its 
principal  river  at  the  sea  coast,  must  necessarily  be  allowed 
to  claim  and  hold  as  great  an  extent  of  the  interior  country 
as  was  described  by  the  course  of  such  principal  river  and  its 
tributary  streams."  This  is  a  very  sweeping  declaration, 
more  particularly  when  applied  to  the  rivers  of  the  New 
World  ;  and,  in  order  that  it  should  command  the  acquies- 
cence of  other  states,  it  must  be  agreeable  either  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  natural  law,  or  to  the  practice  of  nations. 


^^5^' 


COMMON    USE    OP    RIVERS. 


195 


y  of  indi- 
rvncrs :   ho 
ptain  of  a 
for  whose 
The  Gov. 
der,  ahout 
iding  ves. 
en,  could 
in  which 
of  a  com- 
mexed,  in 
•  Gallatin 
:— "  Dur- 
ctobcr  or 
these  two 
o  me  that 
and  to  re- 
ie  Ameri- 
id  would 
n   this  to 
Juld  con- 
t  himself, 
."     This 
ed  States 
\  the  pro. 
territory, 
»mmerce, 
0  convey 
by  every 
narks, 
ay's  dis. 
iscovery, 
3es,  was 
it  a  na> 
ti  of  its 
allowed 
country 
r  and  its 
laration, 
le   New 
acquies. 
he  prin- 


Thc  principles  involved  in  this  position  seem  to  be,  that  tho 
discoverer  of  the  mouth  of  a  river  is  entillod  to  tho  exclusive 
use  of  tho  river  ;  and  the  exclusive  use  of  the  river  entitles 
him  to  the  property  of  its  banUs.  This  is  an  inversion  of  tho 
ordinary  principles  of  natural  law,  which  regards  rivers  and 
lakes  as  appendages  to  a  territory,  the  use  of  which  is  neces- 
sary for  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  the  territory,  and  rights  of 
|)roperty  in  them  only  as  accpiired  through  rights  of  property 
in  the  banks.  Thus,  Vatlel  (i.,  §  268  :)  "  VVhcn  a  nation 
takes  possession  of  a  country  bounded  by  a  river,  she  is  con* 
sidered  as  appropriating  to  herself  tho  river  also  :  for  the  utility 
of  a  river  is  too  great  to  admit  of  a  supposition  that  the  nation 
(lid  not  intend  to  reserve  it  for  itself.  Consequently,  the  na- 
tion that  first  established  her  dominion  on  one  of  the  banks  of 
the  river  is  considered  as  being  tho  first  possessor  of  all  that 
|)art  of  the  river  which  bounds  her  territory.  Where  it  is  a 
question  of  a  very  broad  river,  this  presumption  admits  not  of 
a  doubt,  so  far  at  least  as  relates  to  a  part  of  the  river's 
breadth  :  and  the  strength  of  the  presumption  increases  or 
diminishes  in  an  inverse  ratio  with  the  breadth  of  a  river  ;  for 
the  narrower  the  river  is,  the  more  do  the  safety  and  conven- 
ience of  its  use  require  that  it  should  be  subject  to  the  empire 
and  property  of  a  nation." 

According  to  the  Civil  Law,  rivers  (fiumina  perennia,)  as 
distinguished  from  streams  (rivi,)  were  deemed  public,  which, 
like  the  sea  shore,  all  might  use.  In  an  analogous  manner, 
in  reference  to  great  rivers  fiowmg  into  the  ocean,  a  common 
use  is  presumed,  unless  an  exclusive  title  can  be  made  out, 
either  from  prescription  or  tho  ackno.vledgment  of  other 
states.  Thus,  Mr.  Wheaton,  in  his  Elements  of  International 
Law,  (part  ii.,  ch.  iv.,  §  18,)  in  referring  to  the  Treaty  of  San 
Lorenzo  el  Real,  in  ITUS,  by  the  4lh  article  of  which  his  Ca- 
tholic Majesty  agreed  that  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  its  sources  to  the  ocean,  should  be  free  to  the  citizens  of 
tho  United  States,  (Martens,  Traites,  vi.,  p.  142,)  Spain  hav- 
ing become  at  this  time  possessed  of  both  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi at  its  mouth,  observes  : — "  The  right  of  the  United 
States  to  participate  with  Spain  in  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi was  rested  by  the  American  Government  on  the  senti- 
ment, written  in  deep  characters  on  the  heart  of  man,  that 
the  ocean  is  free  to  all  men,  and  its  rivers  to  all  their  inhabit- 
ants."    Thus,  indeed,  the  use  of  a  river  is  considered  by  Mr. 


i*r 


\     . 


f 


190 


EXTENT    OF   SEA    COAST. 


"  f,- 


'^-l 


t 


■tin^ 


I 

» : 


, ,..» , 


Wlirnton  to  he  nccossory  to  inhabitancy ;  in  other  words,  to 
follow  the  property  in  the  hanks. 

The  principle,  however,  upon  which  the  commissioner  of 
the  United  States  d<'f('nd(;d  his  claim  to  attach  such  an  extent 
of  country  to  the  jliscovery  of  Captain  (Jray,  was,  that  it  was 
at  once  rvasnnahh  and  motlvrair  :  reasonable,  because  there 
must  be  some  rule  for  determining  the  local  extent  of  a  dis- 
covery, and  none  was  more  projxr  than  takinp  the  water- 
courses which  nature  had  laid  down,  both  as  the  fair  limits  of 
the  country,  and  as  indispensable  to  its  use  and  value ;  mod- 
crate,  because  the  natives  of  Kurope  had  ()ftcn,  under  their 
rights  of  discovery,  carried  their  claims  much  further.  As  to 
the  reasonableness  of  the  rule,  if  Mr.  Rush  meant  that  rivers 
were  the  natural  and  most  convenient  boundaries  of  territo- 
ries, this  proposition  would  command  a  ready  assent:  but  the 
residt  of  the  principle  which  he  set  up  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
discovery,  would  be  to  make  the  high-lands,  and  not  the 
water-courses,  the  territorial  limits.  In  respect,  however,  to 
the  moderation  of  the  principle,  when  the  mngnitude  of  the 
great  rivers  of  America,  the  Amazons  for  example,  or  the 
Mississippi,  is  taken  into  consideration,  the  absolute  modera- 
tion of  the  rule  would  be  questionable.  Hut  its  moderation 
was  insisted  upon  in  comparison  with  the  extensive  grants  of 
the  European  sovereigns.  The  comparative  moderation,  how- 
ever, of  a  principle  will  not  be  sulhcient  to  give  it  validity  as 
a  principle  of  international  law,  if  it  should  be  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  practice  of  nations. 

But  Mr.  Monroe,  under  whose  administration  as  President 
of  the  United  States  this  principle  was  advanced  by  Mr. 
Rush,  had,  in  the  negotiations  which  he,  in  conjunction  with 
Mr.  Pinckney,  carried  on  in  1805  with  Spain,  propoimdcd  a 
very  dilFerent  principle,  viz.  :  "that  whenever  any  I'iUropcan 
nation  takes  possession  of  any  extent  of  sea  eoasf,  that  posses- 
sion is  understood  as  extending  into  the  interior  country,  to 
the  sources  of  the  rivers  emptying  within  that  coast,  to  all 
their  branches,  and  the  country  they  cover,  and  to  give  it  a 
right  in  exclusion  of  all  other  nations  to  the  same." 

Now  Vattel  (i.,  §  266)  observes, — ♦'  When  a  nation  takes 
possession  of  a  country,  with  a  view  to  settle  there,  it  takes 
possession  of  everything  included  in  it,  as  lands,  lakes,  riv- 
ers, &;c." 

Here  then  the  title  to  the  river  is  made  subordinate  to  the 


if- 


tROZAT  8    GRANT. 


197 


I    ^ 


r  wonls,  to 

issionor  of 
1  nn  vxlvnt 
(hat  it  wns 
aiiso  llifTo 
it  ofn  (lis- 
tlio  wnter- 
ir  limits  of 
Iiie;  mod- 
nder  their 
or.     As  to 
that  rivers 
of  torrito- 
biit  the 
ent  of  the 
1(1    not  the 
nwcvcr,  to 
iifio  of  the 
)lo,  or  the 
o  rnodorn- 
noderation 
3  grants  of 
ition,  how- 
validity  as 
in  accord. 

President 
d  by  Mr. 
:tion  with 
pounded  a 

J'inroj)can 
mt  posses- 
ountry,  to 
ast,  to  all 

give  it  a 

lion  takes 
3,  it  takes 
akcs,  riv« 

ite  to  the 


titlfi  to  the  coast,  and  such  is  the  rase  in  the  charters  of  the 
Crown  of  Kn^land,  which  Mr.  Rush  alludes  to  as  confirma- 
tory of  his  view.  The  (ieorgia  Charter  of  ITIJ'J,  for  in. 
stance,  of  which  he  cites  a  portion,  granted  ♦'  all  the  lands 
and  territories  from  the  most  northern  stream  of  (he  Savan- 
nah river,  all  nloni,'  llir  sea  roast  to  the  southward  imto  the 
most  southern  stream  of  the  Alatamaha  river,  and  westward 
from  the  hcails  of  f/ir  said  rivrrs  rrsprrtivrh/  in  ilirrrf  lines  to 
the  South  Sras,  and  all  that  space,  circuit,  and  precinct  of 
land  lying  ?/•///*//»  the  said  boundaries.^''  (Oldmixon's  History 
of  the  British  C'olonies  in  America,  i.,  p.  52.").) 

The  same  principle  is  sanctioned  in  th(>  grant  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  of  Carolina,  and  it  is  perfectly  reasonable  :  for, 
as  the  discovery  has  taken  place  from  the  sea,  the  approach  to 
the  territory  is  presumed  to  be  from  the  sea,  so  that  the  occu- 
pant of  the  sea-coast  will  necessarily  bar  the  way  to  any 
second  comer  :  and  as  he  is  supposed,  in  all  those  grants,  to 
have  settled  in  vacant  territory,  he  will  naturally  be  entitled 
to  extend  his  settlement  over  the  vacant  district,  as  there  will 
be  no  other  civilised  power  in  his  way. 

Mr.  Rush,  in  order  to  show  that  Britain  was  not  the  only 
European  nation,  who,  in  her  territorial  claims  on  this  conti- 
nent, had  had  an  eye  to  the  rule  of  assuming  watercourses 
to  be  the  fittest  boundaries,  cited  the  charter  of  Louis  XIV.  to 
Crozat.  But  this  very  charter  bears  testimony  against  the 
principle  advanced  by  Mr.  Rush  ;  for  it  is  undeniable  that 
the  Spaniards  discovered  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  about 
1540  ;  yet,  in  the  face  of  this  fact,  the  French  king  granted 
to  Crozat  all  the  territory  between  New  Mexico  on  the  west 
and  Carolina  on  the  east,  as  far  as  the  sources  of  the  St. 
Louis,  or  Mississippi,  under  the  name  of  the  Government  of 
Louisiana,  as  a  part  of  his  possessions,  though  Spain  had 
never  ceded  her  title  to  France  ;  on  the  authority,  according 
to  Messrs.  Pinckney  and  Monroe,  of  the  discovery  made  by 
the  French  of  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  as  low  down  as  the 
Arkansas  in  1673,  and  to  its  mouth  in  1680,  and  of  a  settle- 
ment upon  the  sea  coast  in  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard,  by  La 
Salle,  in  1685.  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers,  1817-18, 
p.  327.)  It  was  in  reference  to  this  settlement  that  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  possession  of  the  coast  entitling  to  the  possession 
of  the  interior  country,  had  been  propounded  to  Spain  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States. 

But  if  we  examine  this  principle  in  its  application,  we  shall 


'■•i 


;'l 


h') 


!  ,  «■. 


■■ 


i 


>'  ;>. 


i; 


-. 


i 


k^ 


II 


I 


198 


THE   COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


find  it  lead  to  very  great  inconveniences.  In  the  case  of  the 
Columbia  River  itself,  Mr.  Rush  claimed  the  whole  of  the 
northwest  coast,  as  far  north  as  the  51st  parallel  of  north  lati- 
tude, because  the  north  branch  of  the  river  rises  in  that  lati- 
tude.  But  the  mouth  of  Frazer's  River  is  in  49°  N.L,,  so 
that  the  discoverer  of  the  mo  it'i  of  Frazer's  River  would  be 
entitled  to  the  coast  above  the  49th  parallel,  unless  Mr.  Green- 
how  means  to  confine  the  application  of  his  principle  to  what 
is  strictly  the  valley  of  the  river,  and  this  would  be  to  make 
the  headlands,  as  before  remarked,  the  lines  of  territorial  de- 
marcation.  This  certainly  would  be  an  intelligible  rule,  whilst 
any  other  interpretation  of  his  meaning  would  lead  to  an 
endless  conflict  of  titles.  For  otherwise,  as  observed,  the  dis- 
coverer of  the  mouth  of  Frazer's  River  would  clash  with  the 
discoverer  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  as  Frazer's 
River  extends  from  54°  20'  to  49°,  and  the  discoverer  of  the 
Salmon  River,  which  rises  in  about  53°,  and,  after  pursuing  a 
northward  course,  empties  itself  into  the  sea  a  little  below  54°, 
would  clash  with  the  discoverer  of  the  mouth  of  Frazer's 
River.  Mr.  Rush's  principle  seems  to  assume  that  all  the 
main  rivers  of  a  country  pursue  a  parallel  course,  and  that  all 
the  great  valleys  and  mountain  ranges  are  conformable,  which 
however  is  not  the  case.  Thus  the  Columbia,  after  following 
for  some  time,  in  a  southward  direction,  a  parallel  course  to 
Frazer's  River,  is  suddenly  turned  aside  to  the  west  by  the 
Blue  Mountains,  which  if  meets  in  about  46°  N.  L.,  and  ar- 
riving at  a  gap  in  the  Cascade  range,  finds  its  way  at  once  to 
the  sea  along  that  parallel,  instead  of  forming  a  great  lake 
between  the  Cascade  and  Blue  Mountains,  and  ultimately 
working  its  way  out  where  the  Klamet  at  present  empties 
itself  into  the  Pacific.  Mr.  Rush's  principle,  therefore,  does 
not  seem  to  recommend  itself  by  its  convenience  ;  but,  as- 
suming  for  a  moment  that  it  is  a  recognised  principle  of  in- 
tcrnational  law,  that  a  "  nation  discovering  a  country  by  eh- 
tering  the  mojth  of  its  principal  river  at  the  sea  coast,  must 
necessarily  be  allowed  to  claim  and  hold  as  great  an  extent 
of  the  interior  country  as  was  described  by  the  course  of 
the  principal  river  and  its  tributary  streams,"  the  United 
States  would  only  be  entitled  to  the  valley  of  the  Columbia 
River,  to  the  country  watered  by  the  river  itself,  and  its  tribu. 
taries  :  it  could  not  claim  to  come  across  the  Cascade  range 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  Columbia,  to  cross  the  highlands 
which  turn  off  the  waters  on  their  eastern  side  into  the  Co- 


m 


I 


DERIVATIVE    TITLE    OF   THE    UNITED   STATES. 


199 


ase  of  the 
)Ie  of  the 
north  lati- 

that  lati. 
'  N.L.,  so 

would  bo 
Ir.  Green- 
le  to  what 
!  to  make 
itorial  do- 
ule,  whilst 
sad  to  an 
i,  the  dis- 
i  with  the 

Frazer's 
er  of  the 
ursuing  a 
elow  54°, 

Frazer's 
it  all  the 
id  that  all 
)le,  which 
following 
course  to 
5t  by  the 
,  and  ar- 
it  once  to 
reat  lake 
Itimately 
t  empties 
ore,  does 
;  but,  as< 
le  of  in- 
y  by  eh- 
ist,  must 
in  extent 
lourse  of 
!  United 
!)olumbia 
its  tribu> 
le  range 
ighlands 
the  Co- 


lumbia, and  on  their  western  side  into  Admiralty  Inlet ;  yet, 
by  virtue  of  the  first  entrance  by  Cray  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  the  United  States  claim,  "  in  their  own 
right,  and  under  their  absolute  and  exclusive  sovereignty  and 
dominion,  the  whole  of  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, from  the  42d  to  at  least  as  high  up  as  the  51st  degree 
of  north  latitude." 

Such  were  the  grounds  on  which  the  original  title  of  the 
United  States  was  set  up  ;  her  derivative  title  on  this  occa- 
sion was  founded  upon  the  cession  of  the  title  of  Spain  by 
the  Treaty  of  Washington.  In  support  of  the  Spanish  title, 
Mr.  Rush  alleged  that  "  Russia  had  Jicknowledged  it  in  1790, 
as  the  State  Papers  of  the  Nootka  Sound  controversy  would 
show.  But  the  memorial  of  the  Court  of  Spain  simply  states, 
that  in  reply  to  the  remonstrance  of  Spain  against  the  en- 
croachments of  Russian  navigators  within  the  limits  of  Span- 
ish America  (limits  situated  within  Prince  William's  Strait,) 
Russia  declared  "  that  she  had  given  orders  that  her  subjects 
should  make  no  settlement  in  places  belonging  to  other 
Powers,  and  that  if  those  orders  had  been  violated,  and  any 
had  been  made  in  Spanish  America,  she  desired  the  King 
would  put  a  stop  to  them  in  a  friendly  manner."  (Annual 
Register,  1790,  p.  295.)  But  Russia  did  not  acknowledge 
the  limits  of  Spanish  America,  as  set  up  by  Spain  ;  on  the 
contrary,  we  find  M.  de  Poletica,  the  Russian  minister  at 
Washington,  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Adams  of  the  28th  February 
1822,  distinctly  asserting  that  Russian  navigators  had  pushed 
their  discoveries  as  far  south  as  the  forty-ninth  degree  of 
north  latitude  in  1741,  and  that  in  1789  there  were  Russian 
colonies  in  Vancouver's  island,  which  the  Spanish  authorities 
did  not  disturb,  and  that  Vancouver  found  a  Russian  estab- 
lishment  in  the  Bay  of  Koniac.  (British  and  Foreign  State 
Papers  1822-23.)  Vancouver  himself  states,  that  he  found 
a  settlement  of  about  one  hundred  Russians  at  Port  Etches, 
on  the  tastern  side  of  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  M.  do 
Poletica,  in  his  negotiations  with  Mr.  Adams,  maintained  the 
authenticity  of  the  statement  in  the  two  ofticial  letters  pre- 
served in  the  Archives  of  the  Marine  at  Paris,  which  report 
that  in  1789  Captain  Haro,  in  the  Spanish  packet  St.  Charles, 
found  a  Russian  settlement  in  the  latitude  of  4!'»°  and  49°. 
(State  Papers,  1825-26,  p.  500.)  Fleurieu,  the  French 
hydrographer,  considers  these  numbers  to  be  erioncous,  and 
that  58°  and  69°  ought  to  be  read ;  but  he  gives  no  other 


• 


' 


11 


i- 


K 


^l, 


300 


RUSSIAN   AMERICAN  COMPANY. 


reason  than   that  the  English  traders  had  fully  ascertained 
that    the    Russians    had    no    establishment  to  the  south  of 
Nootka  Sound,  which  is  between  49  and  50  degrees.     So 
far,  at  least,  were  the    Russians  from    practically  recogni?- 
ing  the  title  of  Spain  up  to  60°  north  latitude,  that  in  1799 
the  Emperor  Paul  granted  to  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany  the   exclusive  enjoyment  of  the  north-west  coast   as 
far  south  as  65°  north  lat.,  in  virtue  of  the  discovery  of  it 
by  Russian  navigators,  and  authorised  them  to  extend  their 
discoveries  to  the  south  of  55°,  and  to  occupy  all  such  terri- 
tories  as  should  not  have  been  previously  occupied  and  placed 
under  subjection  by  any  other  nation,  (Greenhow,  p.  S33.) 
It  was  further  urged   by  Mr.  Rush,  that  Spain  had  expressly 
asserted  in  1790,  that  her  territories  extended  as  far  as  the 
60th  degree  of  north  latitude  ;  and  that  she  had  always  main- 
tained her  possessions  entire,  notwithstanding  attempted  en- 
croachments upon  them.     This,  however,  was  not  admitted 
by  the  British  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Madrid :  moreover,  it 
was  by  implication  denied  in  the  very  first  article  of  the 
treaty,  by  which  it  was  stipulated    that    the   buildings   and 
tracts  of  land  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  or  on  is- 
lands adjacent  to  the  continent,  of  which  the  subjects  of  his 
Britannic  Majesty  had  been  dispossessed  about  the  middle  of 
April,  1789,  by  the  Spaniards,  should  be  restored  to  the  said 
British  subjects.     Again,  it  was  contended  by  Mr.  Rush,  that 
"  any  claim  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  under  the  voyage  of 
Cpptain  Cook,  was  sufficiently  superseded  (passing  by  every 
thing  else)  by  the  Journal  of  the  Spanish  expedition  from  San 
Bias,  in  1775,  kept  by  Don  Antonio  Maurelle,  and  published 
by  Daines  Barrington,  a  British  author,"  in  his  Miscellanies. 
It  is,  however,  quite  a  novel  view  of  the  law  of  nations,  that 
a  clandestine  discovery  should  be  set  up  to  supersede  a  patent 
discovery,  notified  to  all  the  world  by  the  authoritative  publi- 
cation of  the  facts.     Thus  Lord  Stowell,  in  the  case  of  the 
Fama  (5  Robinson's  Reports,  115,)  says,  "In  newly-discov- 
ered countries,  where  a  title  is  meant  to  be  established  ^  r  the 
first   time,  some  act  of  possession  is  usually  done,  an    pro- 
claimed  as  a  notijication  of  the  fact.     In  a  similar  manner,  in 
the  case  of  derivative  title,  it  is  a  recognised  rule  of  interna- 
tional law,  that  sovereignty  does  not  pass  by  the  mere  words 
of  a  treaty,  without  actual  delivery.     When  stipulations  of 
treaties,"  observes  Lord  Stowell,  "  for  ceding  particular  coun- 
tries are  to  be  carried  into  executioni  solemn  instruments  of 


iscertained 
B  south  of 
So 


^rees. 


recotrni?. 
it  in  1799 
can  Com- 
;  coast   as 
ivery  of  it 
:tend  their 
such  terri- 
md  placed 
',  p.  333.) 
expressly- 
far  as  the 
ays  mcin- 
mpted  en- 
admitted 
ireover,  it 
le  of  the 
lings   and 
,  or  on  is- 
cts  of  his 
middle  of 
)  the  said 
lush,  that 
oyage  of 
by  every 
from  San 
published 
cellanies. 
ions,  that 
a  patent 
ve  publi- 
;e  of  the 
y- disco  V- 
d  '  r  the 
aii    pro- 
inner,  in 
'  intcrna- 
re  words 
ations  of 
ar  coun- 
ments  of 


CONVENTION   OF   THE    ESCVRIAL. 


201 


E 


cession  are  drawn  up,  and  adequate  powers  wcc  formally  given 
to  the  persons  by  whom  the  actual  delivery  is  to  be  made.  In 
modern  times  more  especially,  such  a  proceeding  is  become 
almost  a  matter  of  necessity,  with  regard  to  the  territorial 
establishments  of  the  states  of  Europe  in  the  New  World. 
The  treaties  by  which  they  are  affected  may  not  be  known 
to  them  for  many  months  after  they  are  made.  Many  arti- 
cles must  remain  executory  only,  and  not  executed  till  carried 
into  effect ;  and  until  that  is  done  by  some  pubUc  act,  the  for- 
mer sovereignty  must  remain.  In  illustration  of  the  practice 
of  nations  being  in  accordance  with  this  principle,  that  emi- 
nent  judge  cited  the  instances  of  the  cession  of  Nova  Scotia 
to  France  in  1667,  of  Louisiana  to  ^pain  in  1762,  and  of  East 
Florida  to  Spain  in  1803,  in  all  of  which  cases  the  sove- 
reignty was  held  not  to  have  passed  by  the  treaty,  but  by  a 
subsequent  formal  and  public  act  of  notification.  Claims  of 
territory  are  claims  of  a  most  sacred  nature,  and,  as  the  case 
of  vacant  lands,  a  claim  of  discovery  by  one  nation  is  to 
supersede  and  extinguish  thence-forward  the  rights  of  all  other 
nations  to  take  possession  of  the  country  as  vacant,  the  reason 
of  the  thing  requires  that  the  newly-acquired  character  of  the 
country  should  be  indicated  by  some  public  act.  Thus  Mr. 
Greenhow  (p.  116)  observes,  that  the  Government  of  Spain, 
by  its  silence  as  to  the  results  of  the  expedition  of  Perez  in 
1744,  deprived  itself  "  of  the  means  of  establishing,  beyond 
question,  his  claim  to  the  discovery  of  Nootka  Sound,  which 
is  now,  by  general  consent,  assigned  to  Captain  Cook." 

In  this  conference,  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial,  or,  as  it 
was  termed,  the  Nootka  Sound  Convention,  was  introduced 
by  Mr.  Rush,  in  accordance  with  the  express  instructions  of 
the  United  States  Government.  Mr.  Greenhow  seems  to 
consider  that  this  was  an  impolitic  step  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  as  they  thereby  admitted  it  to  be  a  subsisting 
treaty.  Mr.  Rush  certainly  maintained  that  the  convention 
contained  recognitions  of  rights,  such  as  the  exclusive  cDlonial 
rights  of  Spain,  but  he  further  contended  that,  "  whilst,  by  it, 
the  nations  of  Europe  generally  were  allowed  to  make  settle- 
ments on  that  coast,  it  was  only  for  the  purposes  of  the  trade 
with  the  natives^  thereby  excluding  the  right  of  any  exclusive 
or  colonial  establishments  for  other  purposes."  To  the  same 
purport  Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  340)  in  a  note  says,  "  The  princi- 
ples settled  by  the  Nootka  Sound  Convention  were  : — 

"  1st.  That  the  rights  of  fishing  in  the  South  Seas ;  of 


'li 


■  •'; 


I 


•I'- 


II 


2oa 


MEMORIAL   OF   SPAIN. 


trading  with  the  n.itivcs  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America  ; 
and  of  making  scltlemcnts  on  the  coast  itself  for  the  purposes 
of  that  trade,  north  of  the  actual  settlements  of  Spain,  were 
common  to  all  the  European  nations,  and  of  course  to  the 
United  States." 

This  view,  however,  of  the  purport  of  the  Convention  of 
the  Escurial,  falls  short  of  the  full  bearing  of  the  3rd  article, 
which  is  the  one  alluded  to  ;  by  which  it  was  agreed,  **  that 
their  respective  subjects  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  molested, 
either  in  navigating  or  carrying  on  their  fisheries  in  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean,  or  the  South  Seas,  or  in  landing  on  the  coasts  of 
those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  country, 
or  of  making  settlements  there."  There  is  no  restriction  here 
as  to  the  object  of  the  settlement :  on  the  contrary,  the 
making  settlements  is  specified  as  distinct  from  the  landing 
on  the  coast  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  It  is  obvious  that,  if 
the  intention  of  the  franiers  of  the  convention  had  been  such 
as  asserted  by  Mr.  Rush,  they  would  have  worded  the  article 
otherwise,  viz.,  "  or  in  landing  on  the  coasts  of  those  seas,  or 
in  making  settlements  there,  in  places  not  already  occupied, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives 
of  the  country."  The  argument,  therefore,  advanced  by  Mr. 
Rush,  must,  upon  the  face  of  the  words  of  it,  be  held  to  give 
an  imperfect  view  of  the  rights  mutually  acknowledged  by  the 
Treaty  of  the  Escurial. 

But  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  settlement'*  in  the  treaty 
will  be  obvious,  if  either  the  antecedent  facts,  or  the  antece- 
dent negotiations,  are  regarded.  In  the  memorial  of  the 
Court  of  Spain  [Annual  Register,  1790,  p.  295,]  it  is  stated, 
that  before  the  visit  of  Martinez  to  Nootka,  Spain  did  not 
know  that  the  English  had  endeavoured  to  make  settlements 
on  the  northern  parts  of  the  Southern  Ocean,  though  she 
had  been  aware  of  trespasses  made  by  the  English  on  some 
of  the  islands  of  those  coasts.  Martinez,  on  arriving  at 
Nootka,  had  found  two  American  vessels,  [the  Columbia  and 
Washington,]  but  as  it  appeared  from  their  papers  that  they 
were  driven  there  by  distress,  and  only  came  in  there  to  refit, 
he  permitted  thern  to  proceed  upon  their  voyage. 

"  He  also  found  there  the  Iphigenia  from  Macao,  under 
Portuguese  colours,  which  had  a  passport  from  the  Governor  ; 
and  though  he  [the  captain]  came  manifestly  with  a  view  to 
trade  there,  yet  the  Spanish  Admiral,  when  he  saw  his  in- 


COLNETT'a   INSTRUCTIONS. 


203 


•f  America  ; 
the  purposes 
Spain,  were 
ourse  to  the 

ivcntion  of 

3rd  article, 
reed,  "  that 
)r  molested, 
s  in  the  Pa- 
\\e  coasts  of 

purpose  of 
he  country, 
riction  here 
tntrary,  the 
the  landing 
ious  that,  if 
1  been  such 
1  the  article 
ose  seas,  or 
Y  occupied, 

the  natives 
ced  by  Mr. 
leld  to  give 

ged  by  the 

the  treaty 
he  antece- 
ial  of  the 
t  is  stated, 
in  did  not 
settlements 
hough  she 
h  on  some 
irriving  at 
imbia  and 

that  they 
;re  to  refit, 

cao,  under 
Jovernor ; 
a  view  to 

iw  his  in- 


structions, gave  him  leave  to  depart,  upon  his  signing  an 
engagement  to  pay  the  value  of  the  vessel,  should  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Mexico  declare  it  a  lawful  prize. 

"  With  this  vessel  there  came  a  second  [the  North-west 
America,]  which  the  Admiral  detained  and  a  few  days  after 
a  third,  named  the  Argonaut,  from  the  above-mentioned 
place.  The  captain  [Colnett]  of  this  latter  was  an  Eng- 
lishman. He  came  not  only  to  trade,  but  brought  every 
thing  with  him  proper  to  form  a  settlement  there  and  to  fortify 
it.  This,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances  of  the  Spanish 
Admiral,  he  persevered  in,  and  was  detained,  together  with 
his  vessel. 

"  After  him  came  a  fourth  English  vessel,  named  the  Prin- 
cess Royal,  and  evidently ^or  the  same  purposes.  She  like- 
wise was  detained,  and  sent  into  Port  St.  Bias,  where  the 
pilot  of  the  Argonaut  made  away  with  himself."  . 

What  these  purposes  were,  is  more  fully  shown  from  the 
letter  of  instructions  which  Capt.  Colnett  carried  with  him, 
and  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Appendix  to  Meares'  Voyages, 
having  been  annexed  to  Meares'  Memorial. 

*'  In  planning  a  factory  on  the  coast  of  America,  we  look 
to  a  solid  establishment,  and  not  to  one  that  is  to  be  aban- 
doned at  pleasure.  We  authorise  you  to  fix  it  at  the  most 
convenient  station,  only  to  place  your  colony  in  peace  and 
security,  and  fully  protected  from  the  fear  of  the  smallest 
sinister  accident.  The  object  of  a  port  of  this  kind  is  to 
draw  the  Indians  to  it,  to  lay  up  the  small  vessels  in  the 
winter  season,  to  build,  and  for  other  commercial  purposes. 
When  this  point  is  efilcted,  diflferent  trading  houses  will  be 
established  at  stations,  that  your  knowledge  of  the  coast  and 
its  commerce  point  out  to  be  most  advantageous." 

That  the  avowed  object  of  Capt.  Colnett's  expedition  was 
in  conformity  with  these  instructions,  is  confirmed  by  the 
letter  which  Gray,  the  captain  of  the  Washington,  and  Ingra- 
ham,  the  mate  of  the  Columbia,  both  of  them  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  addressed  to  the  Spanish  commandant  from 
Nootka  Sound  in  August  3,  1792,  and  which  Mr.  Greenhow 
has  published  in  his  Appendix  [p.  416] — "It  seems  Captain 
Meares,  with  some  other  Englishmen  at  Macao,  had  con- 
cluded to  erect  a  fort  and  settle  a  colony  in  Nootka  Sound  ; 
from  what  authority  we  cannot  say.  However,  on  the  arri- 
val of  the  Argonaut,  we  heard  Captain  Colnett  inform  the 
Spanish  commodore  he  had  come  for  that  purpose,  and  to  hoist 


»! 


t . 


204 


AUTHORIZED   SPANISH    ACCOUNT. 


1 


•^l 


V] 


if    di 


ty  '. 


the  British  flag,  take  formal  possession,  Ace. ;  to  which  the 
commodore  answered,  he  had  taken  possession  already  in  the 
name  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  ;  on  which  Capt.  Colnett 
asked,  if  he  would  be  prevented  from  building  a  house  in  the 
port.  The  commodore,  mistaking  his  meaning,  answered 
him  he  was  at  liberty  to  erect  a  tent,  get  wood  and  water,  Ace, 
after  which,  he  was  at  liberty  to  depart  when  he  pleased ;  but 
Capt.  Colnett  said,  that  was  not  what  he  wanted,  but  to  build 
a  block-house,  erect  a  fort,  and  settle  a  colony  for  the  Crown 
of  Great  Britain.  Don  Estevan  Jose  Martinez  answered.  No ; 
that  in  doing  that,  he  should  violate  the  orders  of  his  king, 
run  a  risk  of  losing  his  commission,  and  not  only  that,  but  it 
would  be  relinquishing  the  Spaniards^  claim  to  the  coast ; 
besides,  Don  Martinez  observed,  the  vessels  did  not  belong  to 
the  King,  nor  was  he  intrusted  with  powers  to  transact  such 
public  business.  On  which  Capt.  Colnett  answered,  he  was 
a  king's  officer :  but  Don  Estevan  replied,  his  being  in  the 
navy  was  of  no  consequence  in  the  business." 

The  authorised  Spanish  account  in  the  Introduction  of  the 
Voyage  of  Galiano  and  Valdes  [p.  cvii.]  is  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  the  contemporaneous  American  statement.  Mr. 
Greenhow  has  quoted  a  portion  of  it  in  a  note  to  his  work, 
[p.  197,]  which  may  be  referred  to  more  conveniently  than 
the  Spanish  original,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : — 
"  There  entered  the  same  port,  on  the  2d  of  July,  the  English 
packet-boat  Argonaut,  despatched  from  Macao  by  the  English 
Company.  Her  captain,  James  Colnett,  was  furnished  with 
a  license  from  the  King  of  England,  authorising  him  [iba 
autorizado  con  ordenes  del  Rey]  to  take  possession  of  the 
Port  of  Nootka,  to  fortify  himself  in  it,  and  to  establish  a 
factory  for  storing  the  skins  of  the  sea-otter,  and  to  preclude 
other  nations  from  engaging  in  that  trade,  with  which  object 
he  was  to  build  a  large  ship  and  a  schooner.  So  manifest  an 
infringement  of  territorial  rights  led  to  an  obstinate  contest 
between  the  Spanish  commandant  and  the  English  captain, 
which  extended  to  Europe,  and  alarmed  the  two  Powers, 
threatening  them  for  some  time  with  war  and  devastation, 
the  fatal  results  of  discord.  Thus  a  dispute  about  the  posses- 
sion of  a  narrow  territory,  inhabited  only  by  wretched  Indians, 
and  distant  six  thousand  navigable  leagues  from  Europe, 
threatened  to  produce  the  most  disastrous  consequences  to 
the  whole  world,  the  invariable  result,  when  the  ambition  or 


■  4 


8ETTLEMKM'    KUUIVALEN  I"    TO    COLO^fl. 


205 


►  which  the 
eady  in  tho 
)t.  Colnett 
ousc  in  the 
1  answered 
water,  dec, 
leased ;  but 
but  to  build 
the  Crown 
wered,  No ; 
»f  his  king, 
that,  but  it 
the  coast  ; 
t  belong  to 
nsact  such 
ed,  he  was 
ing  in  the 

tion  of  the 
2rfect  bar- 
lent.  Mr. 
his  work, 
cntly  than 
slation : — 
lie  Enghsh 
le  Enghsh 
ished  with 
»  him  [iba 
Ion  of  the 
zstahlish  a 

preclude 
ich  object 
anifest  an 
te  contest 

captain. 

Powers, 
vastation, 
le  posses- 
i  Indians, 

Europe, 
lences  to 
ibition  or 


vanity  of  nations  intervenes,  and  prudence  and  moderation 
arc  wanting  in  contesting  rights  of  property." 

Spain,  at  the  commencement  of  the  negotiations,  expressly 
required  through  her  ambassador  at  the  Court  of  London,  on 
February  lU,  1790,  "  that  the  parties  who  had  planned  these 
expeditions  should  be  punished,  in  order  to  deter  others/rowj 
making  settlements  on  territories  occupied  and  frequented  by 
the  Spaniards  for  a  number  of  years."  Great  Britain,  in 
undertaking  that  her  subjects  should  not  act  against  the  just 
and  acknowledged  rights  of  Spain,  maintained  for  them  an 
indisputable  right  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  free  and  uninterrupt- 
ed navigation,  commerce,  and  fishery,  and  to  the  {>ossession 
of  such  establishments  as  they  should  form  with  the  consent 
\ii'  the  natives  of  the  country,  tiot  previously  occupied  by  any 
of  the  European  nations.  The  word  "  establishment"  here 
made  use  of  is  synonymous  with  "settlement,"  etablissement 
being  the  expression  in  the  French  version  of  the  treaty 
wherever  settlement  occurs  in  the  English  version.  Both 
these  terms  have  a  recognised  meaning  in  the  language  of 
treaties,  of  a  far  wider  extent  than  that  to  which  Mr.  Rush 
sough  i,  ♦o  limit  the  language  of  the  Convention  of  the  Escu- 
rial.  In  the  convention  itself  the  word  **  settlement"  is 
applied,  in  the  4th  article,  to  the  Spanish  colonies  ;  in  the 
5th,  it  is  applied  to  the  parts  of  the  coast  occupied  by  the 
subjects  of  either  Power  since  1789,  or  hereafter  to  be 
•occupied  ;  in  the  6th,  to  the  parts  of  the  coast  which  the 
subjects  of  both  Powers  were  forbidden  to  occupy.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  context  to  warrant  the  supposition- that  the 
usual  meaning  was  not  to  be  attached  to  the  word  *'  settle- 
ment" on  this  occasion,  namely,  a  territorial  settlement^  such 
as  is  contemplated  in  the  3rd  article  of  the  Treaty  of  1783  : 
*'  and  that  the  American  fishermen  shall  have  liberty  to  dry 
and  cure  fish  in  any  of  the  unsettled  bays,  harbours,  and 
creeks  of  Nova  Scotia,  Magdalen  Islands,  so  long  as  the 
same  shall  remain  unsettled :  but  so  soon  as  the  same,  or 
either  of  them,  shall  be  settled,  it  shall  not  be  lawful  for  tho 
said  fishermen  to  dry  or  cure  fish  at  such  settlement  without  a 
previous  agreement  with  the  inhabitants,  proprietors,  or  pos- 
sessors of  the  ground. 

In  the  same  manner,  during  the  negotiations  of  1818,  the 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  was  the  term 
applied  by  Mr.  Rush  to  Astoria.      During   the  discussion* 

ao 


t 


i 


I    ' 


y* 

(■ 


; .  •■ 


^   } 


* 


JOO 


LANGUAOE  OF  CHARTERS  AND  TREATIES. 


between  Spain  and  the  United  States  prior  to  tJie  P'lorida 
Treaty,  the  sclllement  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  is  the 
appellation  given  to  the  French  colony  of  I-^a  Salle ;  and  in 
Crozat's  grant  the  word  etnhlisscmens  is  similarly  employed. 
That  "  settlement"  is  not  the  received  expression  in  the  lan- 
guage of  diplomatists  for  temporary  trading  stations,  may  be 
inferred  from  a  single  instance  in  the  Treaty  of  1794,  by  the 
second  article  of  which  it  was  provided, — "  the  United  States, 
in  the  mean  time,  at  their  discretion  extending  their  settle^ 
merits  [leurs  etablissemens}  to  any  post  v/ithin  the  said  boun- 
dary line,  except  within  the  precincts  or  jurisdiction  o{  any  o^ 
the  said  posts.  All  settlers  and  traders  within  the  said  posts 
[tous  les  colons  et  eommer^ans  clablis  dans  I'enceinte  et 
]a  jurisdiction  des  dites  postes}  shall  continue  to  enjoy  unmo- 
lested all  their  property  of  every  kind,  and  shall  be  protected 
therein." 

One  instance  more  will  suffice.  Treaties  must  be  construed 
in  accordance  with  the  received  and  ordinary  meaning  of  the 
language,  unless  otherwise  specified,  e^iecially  when  it  i» 
sought  to  attach  an  unusual  sense  to  any  particular  term, 
which  sense  is  ordinarily  expressed  by  some  other  well-known 
term.  Thus,  the  11th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  serves 
to  show,  that  a  station  exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  trade 
with  the  natives  is  not  termed  a  settlenrent,  or  etablissementt 
but  a  factory,  or  comptoir.  "  In  the  East  Indies  Great  Bri- 
tain shall  restore  to  France,  in  the  conditions  they  are  now  in, 
the  different  factories  [les  difTerens  comptoirs}  which  that 
crown  possessed,  as  well  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel  and 
Orissa  as  on  that  of  Malabar,  as  also  Bengal,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1740."  [Jenkinson's  Collection  of  Treaties,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  185  ;  Martens'  Traites,  i.,  p.  112.] 

In  remarkable  contrast  to  this  we  find  in  the  convention  of 
commerce  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
signed  at  London,  July  3,  1815»  the  following  words  in  the 
third  article  : — "  His  Britannic  Majesty  agrees  that  the  vessels 
of  the  United  States  of  America  shall  be  admitted  and  hospi- 
tably received  at  the  principal  settlements  of  the  British  domin- 
ions in  the  East  Indies,  viz.,  Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  and 
Prince  of  Wales' Island,  and  that  the  citizens  of  the  said  Unit- 
ed States  may  freely  carry  on  trade  between  the  said  princi- 
pal settlements  and  the  said  United  States."  In  this  latter 
case  it  is  no  longer  trading  posts,  but  territorial  estiiblishments 
which  are  spoken  of,  and  the  word  settlements  is  distinctively 
applied  to  them. 


207 


3  Florida 
d,  is  the 
and  in 
mployed. 
the  Ian- 
may  be 
4,  by  the 
(d  States, 
;ir  settle- 
id  boiin- 
of  any  of 
lid  posts 
cinte  ct 
y  iinmo- 
>rotected 

onstrued 
>g  of  the 
en   it   is 
ar  tern>, 
J-known 
is  serves 
of  trade 
ssementf 
cat  Bri- 
now  in, 
ich  that 
del  and 
ginning 
ies,  vol. 

ntion  of 
States, 
3  in  the 
!  vessels 
1  hospi- 
domin- 
ay,  and 
d  Unit- 
princi- 
s  latter 
hments 
ictively 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

NEGOTIATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  GREAT 

BRITAIN  IN  1826-27. 

Revival  of  Ncjroliations — Written  Statements  of  respective  Claims. — 
The  United  Stales. — Great  Britain. — Rights  supposed  to  be  derived 
from  the  Acqtiisition  of  Louisiana. — Jcfferys'  French  America. — Cession 
of  Canada. — The  Illinois  Country. — Treaty  of  Utrecht.— Treaty  of 
Paris. — French  Maps. — Charters. — Declaration  of  Court  of  France  in 
1761,  as  to  respective  Limits  of  Canada  and  Louisiana. — Contiguity  of 
Territory. — Hudson's  Bay  Territories. — Atlantic  Colonies. — Cession  by 
France  of  the  left  Bank  of  the  Mississippi. — Mr.  Gallatin's  Doctrine  of 
Contiguity — Assumptions  not  admissible. — Claim  to  an  exclusive  Title 
by  Contiguity.  —  Argument  from  Numbers. — Derivative  Title  from 
Spain. — Meaning  of  the  Word  "  Settlement"  in  the  Treaty  of  the  Es. 
curial. — Mr.  Gallatin's  Doctrine  respecting  "  Factories." — Intermixed 
Settlements  not  incompatible  with  distinct  Jurisdiction  — The  Conven- 
tion contained  a  mutual  Recognition  of  Rights. — General  Law  of  Na- 
tions may  be  appealed  to  as  supplementary  to  the  Treaty. — Priority  of 
Settlement. — Vattel. — Territory  in  use  never  granted  for  the  purpose 
of  making  Settlements — Treaty  of  Paris. — Usufructuary  Right. — Set- 
tlcmcnts  not  to  be  disturbed- — Territory  in  chief  not  reserved. — Con- 
vention of  1827. 

The  subject  of  a  definitive  arrangement  of  the  respective 
claims  of  the  two  nations  to  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  the  sovereignty  over  which  had  been  placed  in 
abeyance  for  ten  years  by  the  Convention  of  1818,  was  once 
more  revived  in  1826,  on  the  arrival  in  London  of  Mr.  Galla- 
tin, with  full  powers  from  the  United  States  to  resume  the 
discussion.  The  British  commissioners  renewed  their  former 
proposal  of  a  boundary  line  drawn  along  the  49th  parallel 
from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  M'Gillivray's  River,  the  north- 
eastern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  and  thence  along  that  river 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  subsequently  '♦  tendered  in  the  spirit 
of  accommodation  the  addition  of  a  detached  territory  on  the 
north  side  of  the  river,  extending  from  Bulfinch's  (Gray's  or 
Whidbey's)  Harbour  on  the  Pacific,  to  Hood's  Canal  on  the 
Straits  of  Fuca.  Mr.  Gallatin,  on  his  part,  confined  himself 
to  the  previous  offer  of  the  49th  parallel  to  the  Pacific,  with 
the  free  navigation  to  the  sea  of  such  branches  of  the  Colum- 
bia as  the  line  should  cross  at  points  from  which  they  are 


i< 


t  : 


t    in 


P- 


^   > 


208 


MR.    GALLATIN  8    STATEMENT. 


I  f  < 


5> 


'f     ■ 


^      > 


IV     '■ 


navigable  ])y  boats.  The  claims  of  the  two  nations  were  on 
this  occasion  formally  sot  forth  in  written  statements,  and 
annexed  to  the  protocol  of  the  sixth  and  seventh  conferences 
rcsjjcctively.  They  were  published  with  President  Adams's 
Message  to  Congress  of  December  12,  1827,  and  are  both 
inserted  in  full  in  the  second  edition  of  Mr.  Greenhow's  His- 
lory,  lately  published.  The  British  statement  alone  was 
published  in  his  first  edition,  but  the  United  States'  counter- 
statement,  a  very  able  paper,  which  was  a  great  desideratum, 
has  been  annexed  to  the  second  edition. 

It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  so  interesting  a  collection  of 
state  papers  as  the  documents  of  Congress  contain,  are  almost 
inaccessible  to  the  European  reader,  since  a  complete  collec- 
tion is  not  to  be  met  with  in  any  of  our  great  public  libraries 
in  England  or  France — those  of  the  British  Museum,  for  ex- 
ample, and  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  having  been  in  vain 
consulted  for  this  purpose.  It  was  intended  to  annex  both  the 
written  statements  on  this  occasion  in  an  Appendix  to  the 
present  work,  but  the  recent  publication  of  the  negotiations 
of  1844-5,  has  rendered  this  step  unnecessary. 

On  this  occasion  Mr.  Gallatin  grounded  the  claims  of  the 
United  States — first  of  all  upon  their  acquisition  of  Louisiana, 
as  constituting  as  strong  a  claim  to  the  westwardly  extension 
of  that  province  over  the  contiguous  vacant  territory,  and  to 
the  occupation  and  sovereignty  of  the  country  as  far  as  the 
Pacific  Ocean  ;  and,  secondly,  on  the  several  discoveries  of 
the  Spanish  and  American  navigators.  These  distinct  titles, 
it  was  maintained,  "  Though  in  diflferent  hands,  they  would 
conflict  with  each  other,  being  now  united  in  the  same  Power, 
supported  each  other.  The  possessors  of  Louisiana  might 
have  contended,  on  the  ground  of  contiguity,  for  the  adjacent 
territory  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  the  discoveries  of  the 
coast  and  of  its  main  rivers.  The  several  discoveries  of  the 
Spanish  and  American  navigators  might  separately  have  been 
considered  as  so  many  steps  in  the  progress  of  discovery^  and 
giving  only  imperfect  claims  to  each  party.  All  these  various 
claims,  from  whatever  consideration  derived,  are  now  brought 
united  against  the  pretensions  of  any  other  nation." 

"  These  united  claims,"  it  was  urged,  "  established  a 
stronger  title  to  the  country  above  described,  and  along  the 
coast  as  far  north,  at  least,  as  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude, 
than  has  ever,  at  any  former  time,  been  asserted  by  any  na- 
tion to  vacant  territory." 


ACQUISITION    OF    LOUISIANA. 


209 


were  on 
nts,  and 
ferences 
Adams's 
ire  both 
sv's  His. 
)ne  was 
counter. 
Jcratuin, 

ection  of 
e  almost 
B  collec. 
libraries 
I,  for  ex. 
I  in  vain 
both  the 
ix  to  the 
otiations 

ns  of the 

misiana, 

xtension 

and  to 

as  the 

'^eries  of 

ct  titles, 

T  would 

Power, 

,  might 

idjacent 

of  the 

s  of  the 

ve  been 

ry,  and 

various 

brought 

shed  a 
)ng  the 
atitude, 
iny  na- 


The  British  commissioners,  Messrs.  Iluskisson  and  Adding, 
ton,  on  their  part,  maintained  that  the  titles  of  the  United 
States,  if  attempted  to  be  combined,  destroyed  each  other — 
if  urged  singly,  were  imperfect  titles.  Groat  Britain  claimed 
no  exclusive,  sovereignly  over  any  portion  of  the  territory.  As 
for  any  exclusive  Spanish  title,  that  was  detinitively  set  at 
rest  by  the  Convention  of  Nootka,  and  the  United  States  ne- 
cessarily  succeeded  to  the  limitations  by  which  Spain  herself 
was  bound.  In  respect  to  the  French  title,  Louisiana  nt^ver 
extended  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  westward,  imless  some 
tributary  of  the  Mississippi  crossed  them  from  east  to  west ; 
but  assuming  that  it  did  even  extend  to  the  Pacific,  it  belonged 
to  Spain  equally  with  the  Californias,  in  1790,  when  she 
signed  the  Convention  of  Nootka  ;  and  also  subsequently,  in 
1792,  when  Gray  first  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  If 
then  Louisiana  embraced  the  country  west  -of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  to  the  south  of  49°,  it  must  have  embraced  the 
Columbia  itself,  and  consequently  Gray's  discovery  must  have 
been  made  in  a  country  avowedly  already  appropriated  to 
Spain;  and  if  so  appropriated,  necessarily  included,  with  all 
other  Spanish  possessions  and  claims  in  that  quarter,  in  the 
stipulations  of  the  Nootka  Convention." 

As  the  rights  supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  acquisition 
of  Louisiana  were  on  this  occasion  for  the  first  time  set  up 
by  the  United  States,  and  formed  a  leading  topic  in  Mr.  Gal- 
latin's counter-statement,  their  novelty,  as  well  as  the  impor- 
tant consequences  attempted  to  be  deduced  from  them,  entitled 
them  to  precedence  in  the  order  of  inquiry  over  the  derivative 
Spanish  title,  and  the  original  title  of  the  United  States,  the 
more  so,  as  the  two  latter  have  been  already  briefly  examined. 
It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Gallatin  did  not  attempt  to  extend  the 
boundaries  of  the  colony  of  Louisiana,  beyond  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries.  Crozat's  grant  would  of 
itself  be  evidence  against  any  extension  of  the  French  title  in 
this  respect.  But  he  contended,  that  "  by  referring  to  the 
most  authentic  French  maps.  New  France  was  made  to  ex- 
tend over  the  territory  drained  by  rivers  entering  into  the 
South  Seas.  The  claim  to  a  westwardly  extension  to  those 
seas  was  thus  early  asserted,  as  part,  not  of  Louisiana,  but  of 
New  France.  The  king  had  reserved  to  himself,  in  Crozat's 
grant,  the  right  of  enlarging  the  government  of  Louisiana. 
This  was  done  by  an  ordinance  dated  in  the  year  1717,  which 
ZLnexed  the  Illinois  to  it,  and  from  that  time,  the  province 


I 


r. 


Ji, 


i  1 

A': 


i 


i 


210 


NKW    FKANCr. 


( 


lU 


'!! 


? 


^; 


' .  I, 


,t  .\ 


^''^ 


:1-  ,«. 


extended  as  far  as  the  most  northern  limit  of  the  French  pos- 
sessions in  North  Americii,  and  thorol)y  west  of  Canada  or 
New  France.  The  settlement  of  that  northern  limit  still  fur- 
ther strengthens  the  claim  of  the  Lnited  States  to  the  territory 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains." 

The  meaning  of  this  passage  is  rather  obscure,  but  it  seems 
to  imply,  that  by  the  annexation  of  the  Illinois  the  province  of 
Louisiana  was  extended  to  the  most  northern  limit  of  the 
French  possessions  in  North  America,  and  thereby  cut  off  the 
western  portion  of  Canada  or  New  France,  and  so  conse- 
quently extended  itself  to  the  South  Seas.  If  this  be  the  cor- 
rect view  of  the  argument,  then  it  may  be  confidently  assert, 
ed,  that  neither  of  these  positions  can  be  established.  In  the 
first  place,  Crozat's  grant,  on  which  the  United  States  ex- 
pressly and  formally  relied  in  the  negotiations  with  Spain, 
defined  the  country  of  Louisiana  to  be  bounded  on  the  west 
by  New  Mexico,  on  the  cast  by  Carolina,  and  northwards  to 
comprise  the  countries  along  the  River  St.  Louis  (Mississippi) 
from  the  sea-shore  to  the  Illinois,  together  with  the  River  St. 
Philip,  formerly  called  the  Missouries  River,  and  the  St.  Je- 
rome, formerly  called  Wabash,  with  all  the  countries,  territo- 
ries, lakes  in  the  land,  and  the  rivers  emptying  directly  or  in- 
directly into  that  part  of  the  river  St.  Louis.  The  words  of 
the  grant,  if  strictly  interpreted,  limit  the  province  on  both 
sides  of  the  Mississippi  to  that  part  from  the  sea-shore  tothe  Il- 
linois, as  both  the  Missouri  and  the  Wabash  (Ohio)  unite  with 
the  Mississippi  below  the  Illinois.  But  it  seems  to  have  been 
practically  held,  that  Louisiana  extended  along  the  western 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  source.  Thus  we  find  in  Jef- 
ferys'  History  of  the  trench  Dominions  in  America,  published 
in  1760,  Louisiana  thus  described  : — "  The  province  of  Louis- 
iana, on  the  southern  part  of  New  France,  extends,  accord- 
ing to  the  French  geographers,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in 
about  29°  to  near  45°  north  lat.  on  the  western  side,  (the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  being  laid  down  in  Jefferys'  map  in 
about  45°,)  and  to  near  39°  on  the  eastern,  and  from  86°  to 
near  100°  W.  longitude  from  London.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  Canada,  on  the  east  by  the  British  colonies  of  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  by  the  peninsula  of  Florida  ;  on  the 
south  by  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and  lastly,  on  the  west  by  New 
Mexico."  This  description  evidently  omits  the  Illinois,  but 
the  annexation  of  the  Illinois  in  1717  did  not  give  to  the  pro- 


IND1\N    RESERVES. 


211 


onch  pos. 
anuda  or 
t  still  fur. 
!  territory 

t  it  seems 
'oviiico  of 
lit  of  tho 
ut  off  the 
so  coiise< 
the  cor. 
\y  assert. 
In  tho 
tales  ex- 
h  Spain, 
the  west 
ivvards  to 
ssissippi) 
River  St. 
e  St.  Je- 
3,  territo. 
tly  or  in- 
words  of 
on  both 
to  the  II. 
nite  with 
ave  been 
western 
id  in  Jef. 
•ublished 
ofLouis- 
,  accord, 
[exico  in 
ide,  (the 
'  map  in 
n  86°  to 
d  on  the 
of  New 
d  South 
;  on  the 
by  New 
lois,  but 
the  pro. 


Tince  of  Louisiana  the  indefmite  extent  northward  which  Mr. 
Ciallatin  su^^csts,  for  the  Marquis  do  V  audrouil,  in  cedinj^  tho 
province;  of  Canada  to  Sir  .1.  Aruhrrst,  in  1700,  according 
to  his  own  letter,  (  Nnnuul  K  ;z''^Je'',  1701,  p.  IGs,)  expressly 
described  Loiiisiana  as  r\ten(lini;oii  the  one  side  to  the  carry- 
ing place  of  tho  Miamis,  and  ot)  tho  other  to  the  head  of  tho 
river  of  tho  Illinois.  The  Illinois  country  itself  was  a  limited 
district,  watered  hy  a  river  of  that  name,  which  had  been  so 
called  from  an  Indian  nation  settled  on  its  banks.  This  tribe 
or  nation  was  said  to  bav<!  migrated  from  the  west,  along  tho 
banks  of  the  Moingonti,  (tho  Riviere  des  Moines,)  down  to  its 
junction  with  the  Mississippi  :  it  had  then  estahlished  itself  a 
little  lower  down  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi,  in  an 
exceedingly  fertile  valley,  watered  by  a  tributary  of  that  river, 
to  which  it  gave  its  own  name  of  Illinois. 

The  French  settlement  was  in  this  district,  according  to 
JefTerys :  its  commodious  situation  enabled  itto  keep  up  the 
communication  between  Canada  and  Louisiana,  and  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  rendered  it  the  granary  of  Louisiana.  It 
may  be  perfectly  true  that  Illinois  was  the  most  northern  limit 
of  the  French  possessions  in  North  America,  if  by  the  terra 
'possessions  is  meant  the  territory  in  which  they  had  made 
settlements  ;  but  if  the  term  is  intended  to  include  the  terri- 
tory in  which  they  claimed  a  right  to  found  settlements,  the 
statement  would  not  be  correct. 

By  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  the  British  had  precluded  them* 
selves  from  passing  over  the  limits  of  the  territory  of  the  Bay 
of  Hudson,  and  all  the  country  south  of  those  limits  would  be 
considered  amongst  "  the  places  appertaining  to  the  French," 
in  other  words,  would  be  part  of  New  France.  But  the  south- 
ern boundary  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory  would  be  much 
to  the  northward  of  the  Illinois  country  ;  the  intermediate  dis- 
trict, it  is  true,  was  peopled  with  various  Indian  tribes,  but  the 
French,  as  against  Great  Britain,  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
had  an  exclusive  title  to  the  country.  By  the  Treaty  of  Paris 
in  1763,  that  title  passed  from  France  to  Great  Britain,  and 
in  pursuance  of  the  rights  so  acquired  by  the  crown  of  Eng- 
land, a  proclamation  was  issued,  reserving  to  the  Indians,  as 
hunting  grounds,  all  the  territories  not  included  within  the 
government  of  Quebec,  or  the  limits  of  the  territory  granted 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  enjoining  all  persons 
whatever,  who  should  have  seated  themselves  in  them,  to  re- 
move forthwith  from  such  settlements.     (Annual  Register, 


I 


k: 
* 


213 


FRENCH    MAPS. 


U 


1763,  p.  212.)  It  would  thus  appear,  if  New  France  ever  ojs- 
tended  cicross  the  continent  of  America  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
the  portion  of  it  north  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
of  the  Illinois  River,  passed  into  the  hands  of  Great  Britain, 
on  the  ratification  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris.  The  claim,  how- 
ever, to  the  wcstwardly  extension  of  New  France  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  requires  some  better  evidence  than  the  maps  of  the 
French  Geographers.  A  map  can  furnish  no  proof  of  territo- 
rial title  :  it  may  illustrate  a  claim,  but  it  cannot  prove  it. 
The  proof  must  be  derived  from  facts,  which  the  law  of  na- 
tions recognises  as  founding  a  title  to  territory.  Maps,  as 
such,  that  is,  when  they  have  not  had  a  special  character  at- 
tached  to  them  by  treaties,  merely  represent  the  opinions  of 
the  geographers  who  have  constructed  them,  which  opinions 
are  frequently  founded  on  fictitious  or  erroneous  statements : 
e.  g.,  the  map  of  the  discoveries  in  North  America  by  Ph. 
Buache  and  J.  N.  de  Lisle,  in  1750,  in  which  portions  of  the 
west  coast  of  America  were  delineated  in  accordance  with  De 
Fonte's  story,  (supra,  Ch.  IV.,)  and  the  maps  of  north-west 
America  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  and  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  centuries,  which  represent  California  as  lately  as- 
certained to  be  an  island.  An  examination  of  the  collection 
in  the  King's  Library  at  the  British  Museum,  will  remove  all 
scepticism  on  this  head.  Such  documents  are  entitled,  of 
themselves,  to  far  less  consideration  from  foreign  Powers,  than 
the  charters  of  sovereigns.  These,  indeed,  may  be  binding 
on  the  subjects  of  the  sovereigns  by  their  own  inherent  au- 
thority, but  against  other  nations,  they  must  be  supported  ex- 
pressly, on  the  face  of  them  at  least  by  some  external  authori- 
ty, which  the  law  of  nations  acknowledges.  Thus,  we  find 
generally  the  title  of  discovery  recited  in  the  preamble  of  char- 
ters ;  it  is,  however,  competent  for  other  nations  to  dispute 
this  title,  or  to  dispute  the  extent  to  which  the  grant  goes. 
The  charter  of  Carolina  and  Georgia,  elsewhere  recited,  will 
furnish  a  case  in  point.  In  these  the  grant  extends  westward 
to  the  South  Seas,  but  this  would  convey  no  title  to  the  set- 
tlers against  the  French,  who  barred  the  way  to  the  South 
Seas  by  their  settlements  in  Louisiana,  and  who  would  dis- 
pute the  asserted  claim,  so  that  the  charters  would  be  inope- 
rative in  their  full  extent. 

But  when  Mr.  Gallatin  stated,  that  from  the  ordonnance  of 
1717  the  province  of  Louisiana  extended  as  far  as  the  most 
northern  limit  of  the  tVench  possessions  in  North  America, 


FRENCH    DECLARATION. 


213 


!  ever  eji- 
c  Ocean, 
ippi,  and 
t  Britain, 
im,  how- 
le  Pacific 
ps  of  the 
)f  territo- 
prove  it. 
w  of  na- 
Maps,  as 
racter  at- 
inions  of 
opinions 
tements : 
I  by  Ph. 
ns  of  the 
I  with  De 
arth-west 
ig  of  the 
lately  as- 
collection 
[nrove  all 
itled,  of 
ers,  than 
binding 
rent  au- 
)rted  ex- 
authori- 
wo  find 
of  char- 
dispute 
nt  goes, 
ted,  will 
estward 
the  set- 
South 
)uld  dis- 
0  inope- 

lance  of 
le  most 
merica, 


andthere))y  west  of  Canada  or  New  France,  lie  has  probahly 
overlooked  the  words  of  the  ultimatum  of  the  Court  of  France, 
of  the  5th  August  17G1,  remitted  by  the  Due  do  Choiseul  to 
Mr.  Stanley,  the  British  plenipotentiary,  in  the  course  of  the 
negotiations  in  that  year  after  the  surrender  of  Canada : — 
"  The  King  of  France  has,  in  no  part  of  his  memorial  of 
propositions,  affirmed  that  all  uhich  did  not  belong  to  Canada 
appertained  to  Louisiana;  it  is  even  difficult  to  conceive  such 
an  assertion  could  be  advanced.  Franco,  on  the  contrary, 
demanded  that  the  intermediate  nations  between  Canada  and 
Louisiana,  as  also  between  Virginia  and  Louisiana,  shall  be 
considered  as  neutral  nations,  iudcj)cndent  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  two  crowns,  and  serve  as  a  barrier  between  thorn." 
(Historical  Memorial  of  the  Negotiations,  published  at  Paris 
by  authority,  17GI,  3Iay  be  referred  to  in  Jenkinson's  Coll. 
of  Treaties,  vol.  ii.)  Mr.  Gallatin  says  elsewhere,  in  allud- 
ing to  royal  charters  : — "  In  point  of  fact,  the  .whole  country 
drained  by  the  several  rivers  emptying  into  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  the  mouths  of  which  were  within  those  charters,  has 
from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Florida,  and  it  is  believed  without  ex- 
ception,  been  occupied  and  held  by  virtue  of  those  charters. 
Not  only  has  this  principle  been  fully  confirmed,  but  it  has 
been  notoriously  enforced,  much  beyond  the  sources  of  the 
rivers  on  which  the  settlements  were  formed.  The  priority 
of  the  French  settlements  on  the  rivers  flowing  westwardly 
from  the  Alleghany  Mountains  into  the  Mississippi,  was  alto- 
gether disregarded  ;  and  the  rights  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  to 
extend  beyond  those  mountains,  as  growing  out  of  the  conti- 
guity of  territory,  and  as  asserteci  in  the  earliest  charters, 
was  effectually  and  successfully  enforced."  In  reply  to  these 
remarks  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  limits  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  territory  were  settled  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713, 
those  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  1763, 
and  in  the  preliminary  negotiation  no  allusion  is  any  where 
made  to  rights  founded  on  charters,  or  to  rights  oi'  contiguity. 
On  the  contrary,  in  regard  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories, 
the  peaceable  acquiescence  of  the  Marquis  do  Frontenac, 
then  Governor  of  Canada,  in  the  settlement  of  the  Bay  of 
Hudson  by  the  English  company,  was  maintained  to  be  a  bar 
to  any  claims  on  the  part  of  the  French  to  question,  at  a  sub- 
sequent period,  the  title  of  which  the  British  crown  asserted 
on  the  grounds  of^  discovery.  Again,  in  respect  to  the  Atlan- 
tic colonies,  their  right  to  extend  themselves  to  the  banks  of 

10* 


y  i 


.  i 


I 


■11 


214 


FRENCH    CESSIONS. 


i;  . 


'i  . 


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■  (^ 

f  <   ' 

^ ./ 

i 

1  . 

"J.  : 

■■*' 

ft 


.  ■    ■  ^ 
I 

•i     « 

i 


the  Mississippi  was  never  enforced  against  the  French,  "as 
growing  out  of  the  contiguity  of  territory,  and  as  asserted  in 
the  earliest  charters.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  negotiations 
of  1761,  it  was  admitted  by  Great  Britain,  that  in  respect  to 
the  course  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  territories  in  those  parts,  the 
pretensions  of  the  two  crowns  had  been  contentious  before  the 
surrender  of  Canada,  and  in  respect  to  the  nations  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  Great  13ritain  confined  herself  to  as- 
serting that  they  had  been  always  reputed  to  be  under  her 
protection,  and  proposed  to  the  French  King,  that  "  for  the 
advantage  of  peace,  he  should  consent  to  leave  the  interme- 
diate countries  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  and 
particularly  the  Cherokees,  the  Creeks,  the  Chicosaws,  the 
Chactaws,  and  another  nation,  situate  between  the  British 
settlements  and  the  Mississippi.^^  The  result  of  these  and 
subsequent  negotiations  was,  that  France,  by  the  seventh  arti- 
cle of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  agreed  that  the  limits  of  the  Bri- 
tish  and  French  territories  respectively  should  be  fixed  by  a 
line  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi,  from  its  source 
to  the  River  Iberville  [depuis  sa  naissance  jusqu'ii  la  riviere 
d'Iberville,]  and  ceded  to  Great  Britain  all  that  she  possessed  or 
was  entitled  to  possess,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi, 
with  the  exception  of  New  Orleans. 

This  cession  by  France  of  all  that  she  possessed,  or  was 
entitled  to  possess,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  River  Mississippi, 
would  convey  to  Great  Britain  all  her  title  to  the  Illinois  and 
other  districts  north  of  the  Illinois  country,  if  she  possessed 
any ;  but  she  could  only  possess  any  title  to  them  as  forming 
part  of  the  dependencies  of  Canada  or  New  France.  Out  of 
these,  indeed,  the  province  of  Louisiana  had  been  carved  by 
the  grant  to  Crozat  in  1712,  and  from  these  the  Illinois  terri- 
tory had  been  detached  in  1717,  by  the  charter  of  Law's  Mis- 
sissippi Company;  the  remainder,  such  as  it  was,  had  re- 
tained its  original  character  of  New  France  or  Canada  un- 
changed, as  well  as  its  original  limits,  such  as  they  had  been 
determined  to  be,  either  by  special  commissioners,  in  pursu- 
ance  of  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  or  by  an 
understanding  between  the  crowns  of  France  and  Great  Bri- 
tain. If  therefore  the  French  had  any  possessions  in  America 
north  of  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  as  Louisiana  did  not 
extend  further  north  than  those  sources,  they  must  have  been 
part  of  the  original  province  of  Canada,  and  have  been  ceded 
to  Great  Britain  with  Canada  and  all  her  dependencies.     The 


IDOCTRINK    OF   CONTIGUITV. 


215 


(( 


as 


tch, 
lerted  in 
otiations 
ispect  to 
irts,  the 
jfore  the 
the  east 
ilf  to  as- 
ider  her 
"  for  the 
interme- 
lin,  and 
iws,  the 
British 
3se  and 
nth  arti- 
the  Bri. 
ced  by  a 
ts  source 
L  riviere 
essed  or 
sissippi, 

,  or  was 
sissippi, 
nois  and 
Dssessed 
forming 
Out  of 
irved  by 
lis  terri- 
v's  Mis- 
had  re- 
ada  un< 
ad  been 
ti  pursu- 
)r  by  an 
eat  Bri- 
Vmerica 
,  did  not 
ve  been 
n  ceded 
3.     The 


western  boundary  of  Louisiana  was  never  attempted  to  be 
extended  by  the  French  beyond  the  limits  of  Crozat's  grant, 
by  which  Louisiana  was  expressly  defined  to  be  bounded  by 
New  Mexico  on  the  west,  and  impliedly  by  the  head-waters 
of  the  Missouri  river. 

"The  actual  possession,"  Mr.  Gallatin  maintained,  "and 
populous  settlements  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  including 
Louisiana,  and  now  under  one  sovereignty,  constitute  a  strong 
claim  to  the  westwardly  extension  of  that  province  over  the 
contiguous  vacant  territory,  and  to  the  occupation  and  sove- 
reignty of  the  country  as  far  as  the  Pacilic  Ocean.  If  some 
trading  factories  on  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  have  been 
considered  by  Great  Britain  as  giving  an  exclusive  right  of 
occupancy  as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  if  the  infant  set- 
tlements on  the  more  southern  Atlantic  shores  justified  a 
claim  thence  to  the  South  Seas,  and  which  was  actually  en- 
forced to  the  Mississippi,  that  of  the  millions  aircady  within 
the  reach  of  those  seas  cannot  consistently  be  resisted.  For  it 
will  not  be  denied  that  the  extent  of  contiguous  territory,  to 
which  an  actual  settlement  gives  a  prior  right,  must  depend, 
in  a  considerable  degree,  on  the  magnitude  and  population  of 
that  settlement,  and  on  the  facility  with  which  the  vacant 
adjoining  land  may,  within  a  short  time,  be  occupied,  settled, 
and  cultivated  by  such  population,  as  compared  with  the  pro- 
bability of  its  being  thus  occupied  and  settled  from  another 
quarter." 

In  examining  Mr.  Gallatin's  argument  in  the  above  passage, 
it  will  be  seen  that  he  assumes,  as  the  foundation  of  it,  two 
suppositions  as  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  factories  and  the  settle- 
ments on  the  Atlantic  shores,  which  are  not  admissible. 
Great  Britain  never  considered  her  right  of  occupancy  up  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  rest  upon  the  fact  of  her  having  es- 
tablished factories  on  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  Hudson,  i.  e., 
upon  her  title  by  mere  settlement,  but  upon  her  title  by  dis- 
covery confirmed  by  settlements,  in  which  the  French  nation, 
her  only  civilised  neighbour,  acquiesced,  and  which  they  sub- 
sequently  recognised  by  treaty:  and  in  regard  to  the  infant 
settlements  on  the  Atlantic  shores,  they  were  planted  there 
either  by  virtue  of  discovery,  as  in  the  case  of  Virginia,  cr 
else  upon  the  plea  of  the  territory  "not  yet  being  cultivated 
or  planted,  and  only  inhabited  by  some  barbarous  people,"  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Carolinas,  which,  though  occupied  succes- 
sively for  a  time  by  Spanish  and  by  French  settlers,  had  been 


<■"  t  ■} 


•)•     •' 


..J. 
ill 


i 
i   • 


r     J     .     ;.J 


216 


EXCLUSIVE    TITLE    BY  CONTIGUITY. 


1  ■ 


'III 


Til 

■I 


tf  ,t 


p  I  i .'  • 


n 


abandoned  by  all  European  nations  from  the  year  15G7  till 
1663,  when  Charles  II.  granted  letters  patent  to  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon  and  seven  others,  asserting  a  title  to  it  by  virtue 
of  the  discoveries  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  its  abandonment 
by  other  Powers.  If,  therefore,  the  British  crown  asserted  a 
right  of  extending  its  settlements  beyond  the  heads  of  the 
rivers  emptying  themselves  into  the  Atlantic  to  the  South 
Seas,  it  was  not  by  virtue  of  its  infant  settlements,  but  by 
the  same  title,  whatever  it  might  be,  which,  according  to 
the  practice  of  nations,  would  authorise  it  to  make  those 
settlements,  since  the  claim  was  asserted  in  the  very  char- 
ters which  empowered  the  settlement  to  be  made.  But 
the  settlement  was  limited  to  lands  "not  yet  cultivated  or 
planted,"  in  other  words,  to  vacant  territory.  Was  the  claim 
then  actually  enforced  by  the  British  to  the  Mississippi  ? 
The  history  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  furnishes  a  negative 
answer  to  the  question.  The  claim,  indeed,  which  Mr. 
Gallatin  attempts  to  set  up,  is  to  an  exclusive  title  by  conti' 
guity.  But  such  a  title  can  only  be  founded  on  necessity, 
when  the  law  of  self-preservation  is  paramount  to  all  other 
considerations.  Convenience  alone  will  not  establish  an 
absolute  title,  though  it  may  found  a  conditional  title,  subject 
to  the  acquiescence  of  other  States  :  but  the  reason  which  Mr. 
Gallatin  alleged  in  support  of  the  title  by  contiguity  ;  namely, 
the  facility  with  which  the  vacant  territory  would  be  occupied 
by  the  teeming  population  of  the  United  States,  is  but  a  dis- 
guised appeal  to  the  principle  of  the  vis  major,  and  strikes  at 
the  root  of  the  fundamental  axiom  of  international  law,  that 
all  nations  are  upon  a  footing  of  perfect  equality  as  to  their 
obligations  and  rights.  "  Power  or  weakness,"  observes 
Vattel,  "does  not  in  this  respect  produce  any  difference.  A 
dwarf  is  as  much  a  man  as  a  giant :  a  small  republic  is  no 
less  a  sovereign  state  than  the  most  powerful  kingdom  ;"  so 
that  every  argument  which  rests  on  the  grounds  that  the  mil- 
lions already  within  reach  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  entitle  the 
United  States  by  their  numbers  to  the  occupation  and  sove- 
reignty of  the  country,  to  the  exclusion  of  Great  Britain,  is  out 
of  place  where  questions  of  greater  right,  and  not  of  greater 
interest,  are  under  discussion.  It  should  however  not  be  for- 
gotten, in  discussing  the  probability  of  the  Oregon  Territory 
being  occupied  from  any  other  quarter  than  the  United  States, 
that  British  subjects  are  restricted  by  the  charter  of  the  Hud- 
fon's  Bay  Company  from  settling  there,  it  beinsj  declared  in 


r 


n 


TRADING    FACTORIES. 


217 


IS  no 


.'» 


so 


that  charter,  "that  no  British  subjects,  other  than  and  except 
the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their  successors,  and 
the  persons  authorised  to  carry  on  exchisive  trade  by  them, 
shall  trade  with  the  Indians"  within  such  parts  of  North 
America  as  are  *'  to  the  northward  and  to  the  westward  of 
the  lands  and  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States  of 
America." 

In  respect  to  the  derivative  title  from  Spain,  Mr.  Gallatin, 
in  admitting  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial  to  be  now  in 
force,  as  being  of  a  commercial  nature,  and  therefore  re- 
newed, in  common  with  all  the  treaties  of  commerce  existing 
previously  to  the  year  179G,  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain, 
by  the  treaty  signed  at  Madrid  on  August  28,  1814,  (Martens' 
Traites,  Nouveau  Recueil,  iv.,  p.  122,)  contended  in  the  first 
place  that  the  word  "  settlement "  was  used  in  the  third  and 
fifth  articles  of  the  convention,  in  the  narrower  sense  which 
Mr.  Rush  had  endeavoured  to  attach  to  it  in  the  -negotiations 
of  1824,  namely,  as  "  connected  with  the  commerce  to  be 
carried  on  with  the  natives  ;"  and,  secondly,  that  if  the  word 
"  settlement "  was  employed  in  its  most  unlimited  sense,  still 
that  the  provisions  of  the  convention  had  no  connection  with 
an  ultimate  partition  of  the  country  for  the  purposes  of  per- 
manent colonisation.  The  truth  of  the  last  observation,  to  a 
certain  extent,  is  self-evident,  from  the  fact  of  the  ultimate 
partition  of  the  country  being  still  the  subject  of  discussion  ; 
but  in  respect  to  the  word  "  settlement,"  some  objections  to 
the  attempt  to  narrow  its  meaning  have  been  already  stated, 
and  may  be  referred  to  above,  (p.  291-297.)  A  few  further 
observations,  however,  may  not  be  superfluous.  Mr.  Galla- 
tin, in  another  part  of  his  counter-statement  says,  "  It  is  also 
believed,  that  mere  factories,  established  solely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  trafficking  with  the  natives,  and  without  any  view  to 
cultivation  and  'permanent  settlement^  cannot,  of  themselves, 
and  unsupported  by  any  other  consideration,  give  any  better 
title  to  dominion  and  absolute  sovereignty,  than  similar  estab- 
lishments  made  in  a  civilised  country." 

If  we  admit,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument,  that  temporary 
trading  stations,  erected  without  any  view  to  cultivation  and 
permanent  settlement,  cannot  of  themselves  establish  a  title 
to  exclusive  dominion  and  sovereignty,  this  very  fact  alone 
would  be  conclusive  to  show,  from  the  provisions  of  the  fifth 
article,  that  such  trading  stations  were  not  intended  by  the 
word  "settlement"  in  the  Treaty  of  the  Escurial.     The  set- 


;*, 


■}",, 


J- 


.1 


\    • 


S18 


PERMANENT   SETTLEMENTS. 


II 


IP 


M 


:iit* 


tlements  there  contemplated  were  only  to  be  made  in  places 
not  already  occupied,  and  further,  "  in  all  places  wherever 
the  subjects  of  either  shall  have  made  settlements  since  the 
month  of  April  1789,  or  shall  hereof ter  make  any,  the  subjects 
of  the  other  shall  have  free  access,  and  shall  carry  on  their 
trade  without  any  disturbance  or  molestation."  Unless  the 
settlements  here  alluded  to  would  have  been  considered  to 
give  a  title  of  exclusive  sovereignty  by  the  recognised  law  of 
nations  to  the  party  which  had  tbrmed  them,  if  not  otherwise 
specified,  this  provision  would  have  been  not  merely  uncalled 
for,  but  on  the  well-known  principle  of  "  expressio  unius  est 
exclusio  alterius,"  would  have  tended  to  narrow  rather  than 
to  enlarge  the  rights  of  the  other  party.  The  reason,  how- 
ever, of  this  "  special  provision  "  will  be  obvious,  when  it  is 
called  to  mind  that  both  Spain  and  Great  Britain  carefully 
excluded  foreign  Powers  from  all  trade  with  their  colonies, 
and  that  Spain  had  asserted  in  the  preliminary  negotiations  a 
right  of  "  sovereignty,  navigation,  and  exclusive  commerce  to 
the  continent  '^.nd  islands  of  the  South  Sea,"  and  had  also 
maintained,  that  "  although  she  might  not  have  establishments 
or  colonies  planted  upon  the  coasts  or  in  the  ports  in  dispute, 
it  did  not  follow  that  such  coast  or  port  did  not  belong  to  her." 
Unless  therefore  some  such  provision  had  been  introduced 
into  the  treaty,  the  subsequent  settlements  on  the  north-west 
coast  would  have  been  closed  against  all  foreign  traders,  in 
conformity  to  the  general  laws  of  both  countries. 

But  if  Mr.  Gallatin  is  justified  in  advancing,  as  a  principle 
of  international  law,  that  "  mere  factories,  established  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  trafficking  with  the  natives,  and  without 
any  view  to  cultivation  and  permanent  settlement,"  such  as 
he  alleges  the  trading  posts  of  the  North-west  Company  to 
be,  cannot  of  themselves  give  a  good  title  to  dominion  and 
absolute  sovereignty,  he  cuts  away  from  under  the  United 
States  the  ground  upon  which  they  had  set  up  their  original 
title  to  exclusive  sovereignty.  For  the  factory  of  the  Pacific 
Fur  Company  at  Astoria,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Columbia, 
would  be,  according  to  this  view,  quite  as  inoperative  for  the 
purpose  of  constituting  a  title  by  settlement  in  favour  cf  the 
United  States  as  that  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Compf^ny  ;■.  Fort 
Vancouver,  on  the  northern  Bank,  would  be  ineffectual  for  a 
similar  purpose  in  favour  of  Great  Britain  ;  and,  a,  fortiori, 
the  passing  visit  of  a  merchant  ship,  such  as  the  Columbia, 
despatched  solely  /br  the  purpose  of  trafficking  with  the  nativci', 


I 


DISTINCT   JURISDICTION. 


219 


in  places 
wherever 
since  the 
subjects 
on  their 
nless  the 
idered  to 
ed  law  of 
)therwise 
uncalled 
unius  est 
her  than 
on,  how. 
•'hen  it  is 
carefully 
colonies, 
iations  a 
merce  to 
had  also 
Jishments 
I  dispute, 
J  to  her." 
itroduced 
H'th-west 
aders,  in 

principle 
sd  solely 

without 

such  as 
npany  to 
lion  and 

United 
original 

Pacific 
)lunibia, 
3  for  the 
r  of  the 

:• :  Fort 
lal  for  a 
fortiori^ 
•lumbia, 
natives^ 


and  not  with  the  object  of  making  discoveries,  or  with  any 
authority  to  take  possession  of  territory  for  purposes  of  per- 
manent settlement,  could  never  be  held  entitled  to  the  con- 
sideration  which  the  United  {States  claim  to  have  attached 
to  it. 

Mr.  Gallatin  observed  that  "the  stipulations  of  the  Nootka 
convention  permitted  promiscuous  and  intermixed  settlements 
everywhere,  and  over  the  whole  face  of  the  country,  to  the 
subjects  of  both  parties,  and  even  declared  every  such  settle- 
ment, made  by  either  party,  in  a  degree  common  to  the  other. 
Such  a  state  of  things  is  clearly  incompatible  with  distinct 
jurisdiction  and  sovereignty.  The  convention  therefore  could 
have  had  no  such  object  in  view  as  to  lix  the  relations  of  the 
contracting  parties  in  that  respect."  If,  however,  it  can  be 
shown  that  such  a  state  of  things  is  not  incompatible  with  dis' 
tinct  jurisdiction,  the  argument  will  fall  to  the  ground. 

It  appears  then  to  have  been  decided  in  the  United  States 
Courts,  that,  "although  the  territorial  line  of  a  nation, ^br 
the  purposes  of  absolute  jurisdiction,  may  not  extend  beyond 
the  middle  of  the  stream,  yet  the  right  to  the  use  of  the  whole 
river  or  bay^br  the  purposes  of  trade,  navigation,  and  passage, 
may  be  common  to  both  nations."  (The  Fame,  3  Mason  147, 
C.  C.  Maine,  1822,  cited  in  Elliott's  American  Diplomatic 
Code,  vol.  ii.,  p.  345.) 

Here  then  we  have  the  principle  recognised  of  use  for  the 
purposes  of  trade  being  in  a  degree  common  to  both  nations, 
yet  such  a  state  of  things  being  not  incompatible  with  distinct 
jurisdiction  and  sovereignty. 

Still  less  would  the  fact  of  the  convention  permitting  pro- 
miscuous  and  intermixed  settlements  to  be  made  everywhere 
by  the  subjects  of  both  parties  be  incompatible  with  distinct 
jurisdiction  ;  for,  as  Vattel  observes  (I.  ii.,  §  98,)  "it  may  hap- 
pen that  a  nation  is  contented  with  possessing  only  certain 
places,  or  appropriating  to  itself  certain  rights  in  a  country  that 
has  not  an  owner,  without  being  solicitous  to  take  p<'Ssession 
of  the  whole  country.  In  this  case,  another  nation  may  take 
possession  of  what  the  first  has  neglected  ;  but  this  cannot 
be  done  without  allowing  all  the  rights  acquired  l)y  the  first 
to  subsist  in  their  full  and  absolute  independence.  In  such 
cases,  it  is  proper  that  regulations  should  be  made  by  treaty, 
and  this  precaution  is  seldom  neglected  among  civilised  na- 
tions." 

Mr.  Gallatin  further  continues  :  "  On  that  subject  (jurisdic- 


^ 


Vi 


.,,1; 


if]. 


S 


■:i. 


-rn 


'f  ■ 


:.,A 


220 


RECOGNITION   OP    RIGHTS. 


^  t 


';         * 

' 

1 

;  jv . 

iilii) 

tion  and  sovereignty)  it  (the  convention)  established  or 
changed  nothing,  but  left  the  parties  where  it  found  them, 
and  in  possession  of  all  such  rights,  whether  derived  from 
discovery,  or  from  any  other  consideration,  as  belonged  to 
each,  to  bo  urged  l)y  each,  whenever  the  question  of  perma- 
nent  and  separate  possession  and  sovereignty  came  to  be  dis- 
cussed between  them." 

It  may  be  perfectly  correct  to  say  that  the  convention  "  left 
the  parties  where  it  found  them,  and  in  possession  of  all  such 
rights,  whether  derived  from  discovery  or  from  any  other  con- 
sideration,  as  belonged  to  each;"  for  the  very  object  of  the 
third  article  was  not  the  concession  of  favours,  but  the  recog- 
nition of  mutual  rights.  On  the  other  hand,  that  it  left  all 
question  of  rights  open,  to  be  urged  by  each  at  any  future 
time,  as  if  there  had  been  no  declaration  or  acknowledgment 
on  the  subject,  seems  not  merely  to  be  at  variance  with  the 
substance  of  the  third  article,  but  to  be  utterly  irreconcilable 
with  the  preamble  of  the  convention,  which  contemplates  an 
amicable  arrangement  of  the  difierences  between  the  two 
Crowns,  "  which,  setting  aside  all  retrospective  discussion  of 
the  rights  and  pretensions  of  the  two  parties,  should  fix  their 
respective  situation  for  the  future  on  a  basis  conformable  to 
their  true  interests,  as  well  as  to  the  mutual  desire  with  which 
their  said  Majesties  are  animated,  of  establishing  with  each 
other,  in  every  thing  and  in  all  places,  the  most  perfect  friend- 
ship, harmony,  and  good  correspondence." 

If,  indeed,  Mr.  Gallatin  means  that  whenever  the  parties 
should  find  it  desirable  to  terminate  the  condition  o^occitpation 
in  common,  it  would  be  competent  for  either  party  to  appeal 
to  the  general  law  of  nations,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  the 
treaty,  the  reason  of  the  thing  at  once  suggests  that  recourse 
must  be  had  to  some  general  principles  of  law,  in  a  case  for 
which  the  treaty  does  not  provide.  But  the  general  law  of 
nations  must  only  be  invoked  as  supplementary  to  the  special 
law  recognised  by  the  convention.  By  the  special  law  of  the 
treaty,  the  mutual  right  of  making  settlements  in  places  not 
already  occupied  was  acknowledged  ;  but  the  rights  accruing 
to  either  party  by  virtue  of  such  settlements,  when  made, 
would  be  determined  by  the  general  law  of  nations.  The 
reciprocal  liberty  of  free  access  and  unmolested  trade  with 
such  settlements  was  provided  for  by  the  filth  article  ;  the 
treaty,  however,  was  silent  as  to  the  relations  of  the  parties 
in  other  respects,  after  they  should  have  made  settlements. 


, 


TERRITORY    IN    USE. 


221 


lislied  or 
uid  them, 
ived  from 
ilonged  to 
:)f  perma- 
to  be  dis. 

ion  "left 
fall  such 
)lher  coll- 
et of  the 
lie  re  cog. 
t  left  all 
ly  future 
lodgment 

with  the 
oncilablo 
ilates  an 

the  two 
ussion  of 

fix  their 
nable  to 
th  which 
ith  each 
It  friend- 

5  parties 
cvpation 

appeal 
is  of  the 
'ecourse 
case  for 
1  law  of 

special 
w  of the 
ices  not 
ccruing 
made, 
The 
de  witii 
le  ;  the 

parties 

ments. 


1 


\ 


These  relations  then  would  be  determined  by  the  £r:eneral 
law. 

The  common  right  of  cither  party  to  make  settlements  in 
'places  not  occupied  was  recognised  by  the  convention.  Occu- 
pation  was  thus  declared  to  be  the  test  of  exclusive  title,  and 
"territory  not  occupied,"  was  impliedly  "territory  without 
an  owner."  Priority  of  settlement  would  thus  give  as  perfect 
a  title  under  the  special  law  of  the  convention,  as  discovery 
and  settlement  under  the  general  law  of  nations.  If  this 
view  be  correct,  ihen  Vattel  supplies  the  rule  of  law  which 
would  determine  the  mutual  relations  attendant  on  such  set- 
tlements. "  If  at  the  same  time  two  or  more  nations  discover 
and  take  possession  of  an  island,  or  any  other  desert  hind  with- 
out an  owner,  they  ought  to  agree  between  themselves,  and 
make  an  equitable  partition  ;  but,  if  they  cannot  agree,  each 
will  have  the  right  of  empire  and  the  domain  in  the  parts  in 
which  they  first  settled.''^  (1.  ii.,  §  95.) 

The  mutual  right  of  the  two  parties  to  settle  in  places  not 
yet  occupied,  having  thus  been  acknowledged  by  the  conven- 
tion, the  sovereignty  was  from  the  nature  of  things  left  in 
abeyance  pending  the  establishing  of  such  settlements,  but 
there  was  no  provision  in  the  treaty  to  suspend  the  operation 
of  the  general  law  of  nations,  in  respect  to  the  territorial 
rights  consequent  on  such  settlements.  To  negative  tho 
operation  of  the  general  law,  it  would  be  necessary  to  show 
that  the  dominium  utile,  as  distinct  from  the  sovereignty,  was 
all  that  accrued  by  such  settlements.  But  in  cases  in  which 
the  territory  in  use,  {dominium  utile)  as  distinct  from  the  ter- 
ritory in  ch\c{  {dominium  etninens,)  has  been  granted  by  treaty, 
such  a  concession  has  never  been  said  to  be  granted  "  for 
the  purpose  of  making  settlements,"  and  it  may  be  observed 
that  in  such  cases,  express  reference  is  made  to  the  party  who 
retains  the  territory  in  chief. 

Thus  in  the  17th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  by  which 
Spain  granted  to  Great  Britain  a  usufructuary  right  in  the 
territory  of  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  it  was  provided  : — 

"  That  his  Britannic  Majesty  shall  cause  to  be  demolished 
the  fortifications  which  his  subjects  shall  have  erected  in  the 
Bay  of  Honduras,  and  in  other  places  of  the  territory  of  Spain 
in  that  part  of  the  world,  four  months  after  the  ratification  of 
the  present  treaty. 

"  And  his  Catholic  Majesty  shall  not  permit  his  Britannic 
Majesty's  subjects  or  their  workmen  to  be  disturbed  or  mo- 


'■i 


V:' 


'/.  ■ 


1:1 


M 


222 


ISIFRVCTIARY    RIGHT. 


tl-.i    --Jv 


;,■••■  '-^4f 


&  ^"» 


•>».,,v 


•■'.■^:^, 


lested  under  any  pretence  whatever  in  the  said  places,  in  their 
occupation  of  cuttinff,  loading,  and  carrying  away  logwood  ; 
and  for  this  purpose  they  may  build  without  hindrance,  and 
occupy  without  inlcrruplion,  the  houses  which  are  necessary 
for  themselves  or  families. 

"  And  his  Catholic  Majesty  assures  to  them  by  these  arti- 
cles  the  full  enjoyment  of  those  advantages  and  powers  on 
the  Spanish  coasts  and  territories,  as  above  stipulated." 

In  this  case  it  will  be  seen  that  his  Catholic  Majesty 
granted  to  Great  Britain  the  usutiuctuary  right,  or,  according 
to  the  language  of  the  Civil  Law,  Jus  utendi,  fruendi,  suhk 
rerum  substantia,  of  the  peculiar  produce  of  the  soil  of  the 
Bay  of  Honduras,  reserving  to  himself  the  property  of  the 
soil,  or  the  territory  in  chief. 

But  on  looking  once  more  at  the  words  of  the  3d  a»*ticle,  it 
was  agreed  between  the  two  contracting  parties,  that  "  their 
respective  subjects  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  molesied  either 
in  navigating  or  carrying  on  their  fisheries  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean  or  in  the  South  Seas,  or  in  landing  on  the  coasts  of 
those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  country, 
or  of  making  settlements  there."  Now  the  only  pretext  for 
such  disturbance  or  molestation  would  be  'he  claim  of  territo- 
rial right  or  sovereignty  :  and  that  pretext  Deing  formally  re- 
linquished  by  the  stipulation  not  to  disturb,  the  claim  of  terri- 
torial right,  as  founded  on  considerations  anterior  to  the 
treaty,  was  mutually  abandoned  by  either  party.  Again,  the 
subjects  of  either  party  were  declared  entitled  to  make  settle- 
ments  in  places  not  already  occupied.  If  now  there  was  a 
reservation  of  territorial  right  in  chief  by  one  party,  then  the 
families  settling  there,  which  is  in  effect  colonising,  (for  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  must  be  allowed  them,)  could  not  be  the 
subjects  of  the  other  party,  if  they  settled  and  became  domi- 
ciled there  ;  yet  they  are  acknowledged  to  retain  their  cha- 
racter. Now,  such  as  the  subject  is,  such  is  the  jurisdiction. 
If,  for  instance,  the  absolute  and  sole  territory  of  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  exclusive  of  any  other  Power,  was 
possessed  and  retained  by  Spain,  then  the  jurisdiction  over 
all  persons  settling  there  belonged  to  Spain  :  the  residents  in 
that  territory  were  the  subjects  of  Spain  pro  hdc  vice,  where- 
soever they  were  born,  agreeably  to  the  principle  admitted 
all  over  Europe,  that  every  man  is  the  subject  of  the  jurisdic- 
tion and  territory  in  which  he  is  domiciled.     But  British  sub- 


a  ■ 


■:IJ^ 


.*.! 


CONVETtTION    OF    1827. 


«,in  their 
loj^wood  ; 
incc,  and 
lecessary 

bese  arti- 
owers  on 
ed." 
Majesty 
iccording 
idi,  salvS. 
ail  of  the 
ty  of  the 

a>*ticle,  it 
It  "  their 
ed  either 
e  Pacific 
coasts  of 
urpose  of 
country, 
•etext  for 
»f  territo- 
nally  re- 

of  terri- 
r  to  the 
^ain,  the 
te  settle- 
•e  was  a 
then  the 

(for  the 
ot  be  the 
le  domi* 
leir  cha- 
sdiction. 
le  north- 
^'er,  was 
on  over 
dents  in 

where- 
idmitted 
jurisdic- 
ish  sub' 


II 


i 


jects  settling  in  the  places  not  already  occupied  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America  could  not  thereby  bo  divested  of  the 
character  of  their  original  domicile,  for  it  was  only  in  such 
character  that  they  were  entitled  not  to  be  disturbed  or  mo- 
lested in  their  settlements, — it  was  only  under  the  authority 
and  protection  of  a  British  sovereign  that  they  were  entitled 
to  set  foot  upon  the  territory.  Other  considerations  will  rea- 
dily suggest  themselves,  but  it  is  unnecessary  to  pursue  the 
subject  further. 

These  negotiations  were  l)rought  to  a  close  by  the  signa- 
ture of  the  Convention  of  1827,  by  which  the  provisions  of 
the  3d  article  of  the  Convention  of  1818  were  further  indefi- 
nitely  extended,  it  being  competent  however  for  either  party 
to  abrogate  the  agreement,  on  giving  twelve  months'  notice 
to  the  other  party. 


.  <t 


»■'.}■ 


f  -1 


w.   ,, 


H 


•224 


V' 


!  I. 

i, 

\ 


\ 


*    \ 


.•■i 


,!M'' 


■!'• 


''■\ 


A 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


NKGOTLrnoNs  betvvr?:n  Tin:  initkd  states  and  grkat 

BRITAIN  IN  1814-5. 

Gcncml  lino  of  Argument  on  cither  Side. — Original  Title  of  the  United 
Stiites. — Nationality  of  a  Merchant  Ship.— Mr.  Buchanan's  Statement. 
— Mr.  Rush's  View. — The  Practice  of  Nations  makes  a  Distinction  be- 
tween  public  and  private  Vessels. — Tribunals  of  the  United  States. — 
Laws  of  South  Carolina. — The  Distinction  rests  on  the  Comity  of  Na- 
tions. — It  is  not  arbitrary,  at  the  Will  of  each  Nation,  nor  can  it  be  dis- 
turbed.— Dr.  Channing  on  the  Character  of  Merchant  Ships. — Tho 
taking  Possession  of  a  vacant  Country  for  the  Purpose  of  Settlement,  is 
an  Act  of  Sovereignty — Mr.  Gallatin's  Letter  to  Mr.  Astor  on  iho 
Flag. — Discoveries,  as  the  Groundwork  of  Territorial  Title,  technical. 
— Lord  Stowell. — Inchoate  Acts  of  Sovereignty. — Vattel. — Title  by 
Discovery,  the  Creature  of  the  Comity  of  Nations. — Gray's  first  enter, 
ing  the  Mouth  of  the  Columbia  does  not  satisfy  the  required  Conditions. 
— Ileceta's  Discovery,  in  the  popular  sense  of  the  Term. — Gray's  tho 
first  Exploration  of  the  Mouth. — Expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  — 
Mr.  Rush's  Mis-statement  in  1824,  as  to  the  Sources  of  the  Multno. 
mah,  and  of  Clarke's  River. — Inaccuracy  in  ithe  Statements  of  Mr. 
Calhoun,  and  of  Mr.  Buchanan. — The  Great  Northern  Branch  of  tho 
Columbia  not  called  Clarke's  River  by  Lewis  and  Clarke. — Clarke's 
River  supposed  by  them  to  be  a  Tributary  of  the  Tacoutche-Tesse. — 
The  Tacoutche-Tesse  reputed  to  be  the  northernmost  Branch  of  the 
Columbia- River  till  1812. — Humboldt's  New  Spain. — Junction  of  tho 
Lewis  with  the  Columbia  River. — The  northernmost  Branch  of  the  Co- 
lurnbia  first  Explored  by  Thomson. — Lewis  and  Clarke  did  not  encamp 
and  winter  on  the  north  Bank  of  the  Columbia. — Fort  Clatsop  on  the 
south  Bank. — Mr.  Packenham's  Counter-statement. — Settlements  of 
the  United  States  — Mr.  Calhoun's  Statement. — Mr.  Henry's  trading 
Fort. — Failure  of  Captain  Smith's  Undertaking. — Mr.  Aster's  Adven- 
ture.— Astoria  on  the  south  Bank  of  the  Columbia — Rival  Station  of 
the  North-west  Company  on  the  Spokan  River. — Astoria  not  a  national 
Settlement. — No  Claim  advanced  to  it  by  i!ie  United  States  in  the  Ne- 
gotiations  preceding  the  Florida  Treat}'. — Astoria  transferred  to  the 
North-west  Company  by  Sale — The  United  States  formally  placed  in 

possession  of  it  in  1818 Mr.  Calhoun's  Argument. — Confusion  of  the 

Settlement  with  the  Territory — The  Right  of  Possession. — The  Ques- 
tion  at  issue  in  1818. — Mr.  Rush  did  not  then  assert  a  perfect  Title. — 

Mr.  Buchanan  now  maintains  an  exclusive  Title The  derivative  Title 

of  Spain — Inconsistency  of  the  United  States  Commissioners. — Effect 
of  the  Nootka  Convention. — Contrast  of  the  Claims  of  the  Tv  ;  jov- 
ernmcnts Mr.  Calhoun's  Admission  as  to  Heceta's  Discovery  -—True 


NEGOTIATIONS    OF    1844-5. 


225 


Character  nf  the  original  Title  of  the  United  States.— Not  an  exclusive 
Title — ExclusivencBH  dooa  not  admit  of  Dojrrce. — The  Title  of  Spain 
imperfect  by  express  Convention. — No  Iliglits  granted  hy  the  Nootka 
Convention.— Mr.  Buchanan's  l^tatiincnt. — Kxaniination  of  the  Argu- 
mcnt — Opinions  expressed  in  Parliament  in  1790.— Mr.  Pitt's  Decla- 
ration. 


' 


I)  gri:a  r 


the  United 

Statement. 

.inction  be« 

d  States. — 

lity  of  Na- 

n  it  be  dis- 

hips.— Tho 

tlemcnt,  is 

itor  on  tho 

technical. 

—Title  by 

first  enter. 

[Conditions. 

Gray's  tho 

Clarke  — 

e  Multno. 

its  of  Mr. 

ich  of  tho 

—Clarke's 

3.Tesse. — 

ich  of  the 

ion  of  tho 

of  the  Co. 

)t  encamp 

lop  on  the 

emcnts  of 

's  trading 

'9  Adven. 

Station  of 

a  national 

n  the  Ne. 

ed  to  tho 

placed  in 

ion  of  the 

'he  Qucs. 

Title.— 

tive  Title 

3— Effoct 

:     jrOV. 

—True 


1^ 


The  unexpected  publication  of  tho  correspondence  between 
Mr.  Pakenham,  the  Britisli  Minister,  and  Messrs.  Calhoun 
and  Buchanan,  tho  Secretaries  of  State  at  Washinfjton,  re. 
quires  that  the  more  important  arguments  in  their  respective 
statements  should  be  briefly  examined,  lest  the  present  in- 
quiry should  be  thought  incomplete.  No  substantially  new 
topic  seems  to  have  been  advanced  during  the  negotiation, 
but  the  treatment  of  several  points  in  the  argument  on  either 
side  was  materially  modified.  The  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States  ap[)ear  on  this  occasion  to  have  relied  more 
immediately  on  the  original  title  of  the  United  States  than  on 
the  derivative  Spanish  title  which  Mr.  Rush  first  set  up  in 
1824,  or  the  derivative  French  title  which  Mr.  Gallatin 
brought  forward  in  1826.  The  British  Minister,  on  the  other 
hand,  rested  his  position  more  decidedly  on  the  recognition  of 
the  title  of  Great  Britain  by  the  Convention  of  the  Escurlal, 
and  less  on  the  general  proof  of  it  by  discovery  and  settle- 
ment. 

In  reference,  then,  to  the  original  title  of  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Calhoun,  in  his  letter  of  September  3,  1844,  grounded  it 
on  the  prior  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  by 
Captain  Gray,  on  the  prior  exploration  of  the  river  from  its 
head- waters  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  in  1805-6,  on  the  prior 
settlement  on  its  banks  by  American  citizens  in  1809-10,  and 
by  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  at  Astoria  in  1811,  which  latter 
establishment  was  formally  restored  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  181S  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Buchanan,  in  his  letter  of  July  12,  1845,  having  briefly  reca- 
pitulated  these  alleged  facts,  says  : — "If  the  discovery  of  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  followed  up  within  a  reasonable  time  by  the 
first  exploration  of  its  main  channel  and  its  branches,  and 
appropriated  by  the  firs^  settlrnionts  on  its  banks,  do  not  con- 
stitute a  title  to  the  territory  drained  by  its  waters  in  the  na- 
tion performing  these  acts,  then  the  principles  consecrated  by 
the  practice  of  civilised  nations  ever  since  the  discovery  of 
the  New  World  must  have  lost  their  force.  Those  principles 
were  necessary  to  procure  the  peace  of  the  world.    Had  they 


7  .' 


i 


■'I. 


ij 


h 


.  { 


*     i 


V  ■ 


1 

i 


4 


l|i 


jk;V 


t-,^'''> 


^.;t- 


22G 


NATIONALITY    OP   A    HERCHANT   SHIP. 


not  been  enforced  in  practice,  clashing  claims  to  newly-dis- 
covered  territory,  and  perpetual  strife  among  the  nations, 
would  have  been  the  inevitable  result." 

It  may  be  as  v  ell  to  examine  into  the  real  character  of 
these  alleged  facts,  before  considering  how  far  they  warrant 
the  application  of  the  principle  of  international  law,  to  which 
Mr.  Buchanan  seeks  to  adapt  them. 

In  regard  to  the  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River 
by  Capt.  Gray,  in  the  merchant  ship  Columbia,  under  the  flag 
of  the  U.  S.,  Mr.  Calhoun  eluded  the  objection  that  the  Co- 
lumbia was  not  a  public  but  a  private  ship,  by  simply  observ- 
ing— "  Indeed,  so  conclusive  is  the  evidence  in  his  (Gray's) 
favour,  that  it  has  been  attempted  to  evade  our  claim  on  the 
novel  and  wholly  untenable  ground  that  his  discovery  was 
made,  not  in  a  national  but  private  vessel ;"  and  so  passed 
on  to  other  questions.  Mr.  Buchanan,  on  the  other  hand, 
devotes  a  few  lines  to  the  subject: — "The  British  plenipo- 
tentiary  attempts  to  depreciate  the  value  to  the  United  States 
of  Gray's  discovery,  because  his  ship  was  a  trading  and  not 
a  national  vessel.  As  he  furnishes  no  reason  for  this  distinc- 
tion, the  undersigned  will  confine  himself  to  the  remark,  that 
a  merchant  vessel  bears  the  flag  of  her  country  at  her  mast- 
head,  and  continues  under  its  jurisdiction  and  protection,  in 
the  same  manner  as  though  she  had  been  commissioned  for 
the  express  purpose  of  making  discoveries ;  besides,  beyond 
all  doubt,  this  discovery  was  made  by  Gray ;  and  to  what 
nation  could  the  benefit  of  it  belong,  unless  it  be  to  the  United 
States  ?  Certainly  not  to  Great  Britain  ;  and  if  to  Spain,  the 
United  States  are  now  her  representative. 

Mr.  Rush  had  in  a  similar  manner  maintained,  "  That  the 
ship  of  Captain  Gray,  whether  fitted  out  by  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  or  not,  was  a  national  ship.  If  she  was 
not  so  in  a  technical  sense  of  the  word,  she  was  in  the  full 
sense  of  it,  applicable  to  such  an  occasion.  She  bore  at  her 
stern  the  flag  of  the  nation,  sailed  forth  under  the  protection 
of  the  nation,  and  was  to  be  identified  with  the  rights  of  the 
nation." 

In  both  these  statements  it  seems  to  be  admitted,  that  there 
is  a  t-^chnical  distinction  in  the  nationality  of  a  public  ship 
and  of  a  private  ship;  but  it  is  maintained  that ybr  the  pur- 
poses of  discovery  a  merchant  ship,  under  the  command  of  a 
private  individual,  is,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word,  a  national 
ship.     This  doctrine,  however,  finds  no  countenance  in  the 


r 


\  "i 


rRACTICE    OP    NATIONS. 


227 


newly-dis- 
e  nations, 

laracter  of 
y  warrant 
,  to  which 

nbia  River 
er  the  flag 
It  the  Co- 
ly  observ- 
s  (Gray's) 
lim  on  the 
every  was 
so  passed 
her  hand, 
ti  plenipo- 
ted  States 
J  and  not 
lis  distinc> 
mark,  that 
her  mast- 
tection,  in 
noned  for 
!s,  beyond 
1  to  what 
he  United 
Spain,  the 

'  That  the 
>vernment 
f  she  was 
in  the  full 
Dre  at  her 
protection 
its  of  the 

that  there 
ublic  ship 
•  the  pur- 
nand  of  a 
I  national 
ce  in  the 


practice  of  nations,  which,  on  the  contrary,  makes  a  broad 
distinction  between  public  and  private  vessels,  in  reference  to 
all  territorial  questions.  Thus  the  comity  of  nations  attaches 
to  the  nationality  of  public  vessels  coming  into  the  ports  of  a 
foreign  sovereign  different  considerations  from  those  with 
which  it  regards  the  nationality  of  private  vessels.  To  go  no 
further  than  the  tribunals  of  the  United  States,  "  a  public  ves- 
sel of  war,  of  a  foreign  sovereign,  coming  into  our  jjorts,  and 
demeaning  herself  in  a  friendly  manner,  is  exempt  from  the 
jurisdiction  of  this  country,"  (The  schooner  Exchange  v. 
M'Faddon,  7  Cranch,  116:  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  1812;)  but  a  private  merchant  ship  has  not  that  cour- 
tesy extended  to  it,  if  it  ventures  intra  fauces  terra'..  For  in- 
stance, if  a  British  merchant  vessel  should  enter  the  port  of 
Charleston,  with  free  negro  sailors  on  board,  the  nationality 
of  the  flag  win  not  be  sufficient  to  protect  them  from  the 
operation  of  the  municipal  law,  which  forbids  liberty  to  the 
negro  within  the  limits  of  South  Carolina  ;  and  thus  it  re- 
peatedly happens,  that  negroes  or  persons  of  colour  arriving 
in  the  ports  of  South  Carolina,  though  free  subjects  of  her 
Britannic  Majesty,  and  engaged  on  board  of  a  British  mer- 
chant vessel  in  the  service  of  the  ship,  have  been  by  virtue  of 
the  lex  loci  immediately  taken  from  under  the  protection  of  the 
British  fag,  and  thrown  into  prison.  In  an  analogous  man- 
ner, if  a  merchant  ship  from  Carolina  should  enter  the  port  of 
London,  with  one  or  more  negro  slaves  on  board,  the  mercan- 
tile flag  of  the  United  States  would  not  preclude  them  from 
the  freedom  which  the  soil  of  Great  Britain  imparts  to  all  who 
come  within  its  precincts. 

A  public  vessel,  however,  is  not  entitled,  as  a  matter  of  right, 
to  any  exemption  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  sovereign  whose 
territory  she  enters.  For  the  jurisdiction  of  every  nation 
v'thin  its  own  territory  is  exclusive  and  absolute,  and  all 
limitations  to  the  full  and  complete  exercise  of  that  jurisdic' 
tion  must  be  traced  up  to  the  consent  of  the  nation  itself. 
But  the  comity  of  nations  regards  a  public  vessel  as  represent- 
ing the  sovereignty  of  the  nation  whose  flag  it  bears.  If  it 
therefore  leaves  the  high  seas,  the  common  territory  of  all 
nations,  and  enters  into  a  friendly  port,  it  is  admitted  to  the 
privileges  which  would  be  extended  to  the  sovereign  himself. 
One  sovereign,  however,  can  only  be  supposed  to  enter  a 
foreign  territory,  as  his  sovereign  rights  entitle  him  to  no 
extra-territorial  privileges,  under  an  express  licence,  or  in  the 


'  •> '. 


I' 
'  'I 


i 


i 


'•V 


•»•( 


1 


228 


DR.   CHANNING   ON  THE   FLAG. 


I 


\' 


t 

Is 
I'  ' 

i|i 

m 


confidence  that  the  immunities  belonging  to  his  independent 
sovereign  station,  though  not  expressly  stipulated,  are  reserved 
by  implication,  and  will  be  extended  to  him.  In  a  similar 
manner  it  is  under  an  implied  licence  that  a  public  ship  en- 
ters the  port  of  a  friendly  power,  and  retains  its  independent 
sovereign  character,  by  the  courtesy  of  the  nation  within 
the  precincts  of  whose  territorial  jurisdiction  it  has  placed 
itself.  A  private  ship,  on  the  contrary,  entering  the  ports  of 
a  foreign  power,  has  freedom  of  access  allowed  to  it  upon  a 
tacit  condition  of  a  different  kind,  namely,  that  it  becomes 
subject  to  the  municipal  laws  of  the  country.  Hence  every 
nation  assigns  to  its  mercantile  marine  a  distinct  flag  from 
that  which  its  public  ships  are  authorised  to  exhibit  as  the 
credential  of  their  representing  the  sovereign  power  of  the 
state. 

This  distinction  between  the  signification  of  the  respective 
flags  is  not  arbitrary,  at  the  will  of  each  nation,  but  is  recog- 
nised  by  the  law  of  nations :  wiiilst  the  mercantile  flag  im- 
parts to  the  vessel  which  bears  it  a  right  to  participate  in  the 
privileges  secured  by  commercial  treaties  with  foreign  powers, 
the  public  flag  of  a  nation  communicates  the  full  character 
of  sovereignty,  and  is  respected  accordingly.  The  commer- 
cial flag  thus  carries  with  it  nationality,  the  public  flag  the 
national  sovereignty. 

It  is  as  much  out  of  the  power  of  any  particular  state  to 
disturb  this  distinction,  and  to  attach  to  its  mercantile  flag, 
beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  its  own  territory,  different  consider- 
ations from  those  which  the  practice  of  nations  has  sanc- 
tioned, as  to  increase  or  diminish  the  list  of  offences  against 
the  law  of  nations.  No  individual  nation  can  say,  "  That  is 
our  mercantile  flag  :  such  and  such  powers  shall  attach  to  it, 
because  it  is  our  pleasure  that  it  should  be  so  :"  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  the  practice  of  nations  which  defines  those  powers, 
and  to  that  practice  we  must  have  recourse,  if  we  would  as- 
certain them. 

In  illustration  of  the  above  views,  the  following  extract 
from  Dr.  Channing's  eloquent  and  able  pamphlet  on  "  the 
Duty  of  the  Free  States,"  will  not  seem  out  of  place.  It  was 
suggested  by  the  well-known  case  of  the  Creole  : — "  It  seems 
to  be  supposed  by  some  that  there  is  a  peculiar  sacredness  in 
a  vessel,  which  exempts  it  from  all  control  in  the  ports  of 
other  nations.  A  vessel  is  sometimes  said  to  be  '  an  exten- 
sion' of  the  territory  to  which  it  belongs.     The  nation,  we 


m 


<A  A 


ependent 

reserved 

a  similar 

ship  en- 

ependent 

n  within 

placed 

ports  of 

t  upon  a 

becomes 

ce  every 

lag  from 

it  as  the 

r  of  the 

Jspective 

is  recog- 

flag  irn- 

!  in  the 

powers, 

haracter 

jommer- 

flag  the 

state  to 
tile  flag, 
onsider- 
is  sane- 
against 
That  is 
ch  to  it, 
he  con- 
powers, 
ould  as- 

extract 
n  "the 
It  was 
t  seems 
Iness  in 
)orts  of 
1  exten- 
ion,  we 


NATIONALITY   OP   PUBLIC    SHIPS. 


229 


are  told,  is  present  in  the  vessel ;  and  its  honour  and  rights 
are  involved  in  the  treatment  wliich  its  flag  receives  abroad. 
These  ideas  are,  in  the  main,  true  in  regard  to  ships  on  the 
high  seas.     The  sea  is  the  exclusive  property  of  no  nation. 
It  is  subject  to  none.     It  is  the  common  and  equal  property 
of  all.     No  state  has  jurisdiction  over  it.    No  state  can  write 
its  laws  upon  that  restless  surface,    A  ship  at  sea  carries  with 
her,  and  represents,  the  rights  of  her  country,  rights  equal  to 
those  which  any  other  enjoys.  The  slightest  application  of  the 
iaws  of  another  nation  to  her  is  to  be  resisted.     She  is  sub- 
jected to  no  law  but  that  of  her  own  country,  and  to  the  law 
of  nations,  which  presses  equally  on  all  states.     She  may 
thus  be  called,  with  no  violence  to  language,  an  extension  of 
the  territory  to  which  she  belongs.     But  suppose  her  to  quit 
the  open  sea,  and  enter  a  port,  what  a  change  is  produced  in 
her  condition  !    At  sea  she  sustained  the  same  relations  to  all 
nations — those  of  an  equal.    Now  she  sustains  a  new  and  pe- 
culiar relation  to  the  nation  which  she    has  entered.     She 
passes  at  once  under  its  jurisdiction.     She  is  subject  to  its 
laws.    She  is  entered  by  its  officers.    If  a  criminal  flies  to  her 
for  shelter,  he  may  be  pursued  and  apprehended.     If  her  own 
men  violate  the  laws  of  the  land,  they  may  be  seized  and 
punished.     The  nation  is  not  present  in  her.    She  has  left  the 
open  highway  of  the  ocean,  where  all  nations  are  equals,  and 
entered  a  port  where  one  nation  alone  is  clothed  with  au- 
thority.   What  matters  it  that  a  vessel  in  the  harbour  of  Nas- 
sau is   owned  in   America  ?     This    does    not    change    her 
locality.     She  has  contracted  new  duties  and  obligations  by 
being  placed  under  a  new  jurisdiction.     Her  relations  differ 
essentially  from  those  which  she  sustained  at  home  or  on  the 
open  sea.     These  remarks  apply,  of  course,  to  merchant  ves- 
sels alone.     A  ship  of  war  is  an  '  extension  of  the  territory^  to 
which  she  belongs,  not  only  when  she  is  on  the  ocean,  but  in 
a  foreign  port.    In  this  respect  she  resembles  an  army  march- 
ing by  consent  through  a  neutral  country.     Neither  ship  of 
war  nor  army  falls  under  the  jurisdiction  of  foreign  states. 
Merchant  vessels  resemble  individuals.     Both   become   sub- 
ject to  the  laws  of  the  land  which  they  enter." 

The  taking  possession  of  a  vacant  country  for  the  purpose 
of  settlement  is  one  of  the  highest  acts  of  sovereign  power, 
for  a  nation  thereby  acquires  not  merely  '*  the  domain^  by 
virtue  of  which  it  has  the  exclusive  use  of  the  country  for  the 
supply  of  its  necessities,  and  may  dispose  of  it  as  it  thinks 

11 


/.I 


I 


,  1' 


.( 


} ' 

■  ''^' 

-^"■f 

;       : 

I'- 

.-1' 

b 

'  ? 

ft 

1 

I,    .  ,'• 

u  .  • 


I  1 


p  « 


M 


230 


MR.    GALLATIN    ON    THE    FLAG. 


proper,  but  also  the  empire,  or  the  right  of  sovereign  command, 
by  which  it  directs  and  regulates  at  its  pleasure  every  thing 
that  passes  in  the  country,"  (V^attel,  i.,  §  204.)  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  add,  that  a  commission  from  the  sovereign  alone 
will  authorize  the  act  of  taking  possession,  so  as  to  secure  re- 
spect for  it,  as  a  public  act,  from  other  nations.  Thus  we  find 
that,  in  the  letter  from  Mr.  Gallatin  to  Mr.  Astor,  elsewhere 
quoted,  this  principle  was  fully  appreciated  by  Mr.  Astor, 
when  he  applied,  in  1816,  for  a  commission  from  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  "You  mentioned  tome  that  you 
were  disposed  once  more  to  renew  the  attempt,  and  to  re- 
establish Astoria,  provided  you  had  the  protection  of  the  Ame- 
rican jlag  :  for  which  purpose  a  lieutenanfs  command  would 
be  sufficient  to  you.  You  requested  me  to  mention  this  to 
the  President,  which  I  did.  Mr.  IMadison  said,  he  would  con- 
sider the  subject,  and  although  he  did  not  commit  himself,  I 
thought  that  he  received  the  proposal  f\ivourably." 

It  remains  to  be  considered  whether  the  practice  of  nations 
has  attached  different  considerations  to  the  flag  in  respect  to 
discoveries.  Discoveries,  however,  as  forming  the  ground- 
work of  territorial  title,  are  in  themselves  technical.  They 
are  inchoate  acts  of  sovereignty/.  "Even  in  newly-discovered 
countries,"  said  Lord  Stowel,  in  the  case  of  the  Fama,  already 
cited,  "  where  a  title  is  meant  to  he  established,  for  the  first 
time,  some  act  of  possession  is  usually  done  and  proclaimed 
as  a  notification  of  the  fact."  It  is  not,  therefore,  the  mere 
sight  of  land  which  constitutes  a  discovery,  in  the  sense  in 
which  the  practice  of  nations  resj)ects  it,  as  the  basis  of  terri- 
torial itle  ;  there  must  be  some  formal  act  of  taking  posses- 
sion, which,  as  being  an  act  of  sovereign  power,  can  only  be 
performed  through  a  commission  from  the  sovereign.  Thus 
Vattel,  in  the  passage  so  frequently  quoted,  says,  "  The  prac- 
tice of  nations  has  usually  respected  such  a  discovery,  when 
made  by  navigators  who  have  been  furnished  with  a  commis' 
sion  from  their  sovereig7i,  and  meeting  with  islands  or  other 
lands  in  a  desert  state,  have  taken  possession  of  them  in  the 
name  of  the  nation." 

The  conditional  title  by  discovery  is  entirely  the  creature 
of  the  comity  of  nations  ;  it  has  no  foundation  in  the  law  of 
nature,  according  to  which,  if  the  discoverer  has  not  occupied 
the  territory,  it  would  be  presumed  to  remain  vacant,  and  open 
to  the  next  comer.  For  such  purposes,  however,  the  citizen 
or  subject  is  not  regarded  as  the  instrument  of  his  sovereign, 


<" 

V' 

*■■ 

Ui 

'.[('■ 

M. 

dk 

IlECETA  8    DISCOVERY. 


231 


n  command, 

every  thing 

It  is  hardly 

ereign  alone 

0  secure  re- 
^hus  we  find 
r,  elsewhere 

Mr.  Astor, 
the  govern- 
ne  that  you 

1  and  to  re- 
ofthe  Ame- 
laml  would 
lion  this  to 
would  con- 
t  himself,  I 

3  of  nations 

1  respect  to 

be  ground- 

?al.     They 

•discovered 

na,  already 

br  the  first 

proclaimed 

3,  the  mere 

le  sense  in 

lis  of  terri- 

ng  posses- 

an  only  be 

!;n.     Thus 

The  prac" 

cry,  when 

a  commis' 

Is  or  other 

lem  in  the 


e  creature 
the  law  of 
t  occupied 
and  open 
le  citizen 
sovereign, 


unless  he  bears  bis  commission,  when  his  acts  are  respected 
as  public  acts,  and  are  operative  as  between  nation  and 
nation. 

It  would  thus  appear  that  the  first  entering  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River  by  Gray,  being  the  act  of  a  private 
citizen,  sailing  in  a  private  ship  for  the  purposes  of  trade, 
un  !er  the  mercantile  flag  of  his  country,  was  not  in  the  re- 
ceived sense  of  the  word  a  discovery,  which,  according  to  the 
practice  of  nations,  could  lay  the  foundation  of  a  title  to  terri- 
torial sovereignty.  It  does  not  satisfy  the  required  conditions 
upon  which  alone  the  comity  of  nations  would  respect  it. 
When  therefore  Mr.  Buchanan  says,  "  Besides,  beyond  all 
doubt  this  discovery  was  made  by  Gray,  and  to  what  nation 
Could  the  benefit  belong,  unless  it  bo  to  the  United  States,"  he 
assumes  that  the  comity  of  nations  will  attach  benefit  to  such 
a  discovery,  contrary  to  the  practice  of  nations.  If  is  thus  un- 
necessary to  decide  to  what  nation  the  benefit  will  belong,  in 
a  case  in  which  no  benefit  can  be  held  to  have  resulted.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  admitted  by  both  of  the  American  Secre- 
taries of  State,  that  the  discovery  oi  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia, in  the  popular  sense  of  the  word,  was  made  by  the  Spanish 
navigator  Heceta,  some  years  before  Gray  visited  the  coast. 
It  consequently  follows  that  Gray  achieved  the  first  explora- 
tion, and  not  the  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  even  in 
the  popular  sense  of  the  term. 

In  respect  to  the  prior  exploration  of  the  Columbia  River 
from  its  head- waters,  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1805-6,  Mr. 
Calhoun,  having  conducted  the  expedition,  which  had  been  de- 
spatched under  the  auspices  of  the  Government  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  in  the  spring  of  1804,  as  far  as  the  head-waters  of 
the  Missouri,  states  that  "  in  the  summer  of  1805,  they  reached 
the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia  River.  After  crossing  many 
of  the  streams  falling  into  it,  they  reached  the  Kooskooskee, 
in  lat.  43°  34',  descended  that  to  the  principal  northern  branch, 
which  they  called  Lewis's  ;  followed  that  to  its  junction  with 
the  great  northern  branch,  which  they  called  Clarke;  and 
thence  descended  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  they  land- 
ed, and  encamped,  on  the  north  side,  on  Cape  Disappointment, 
and  wintered.''^  Mr.  Buchanan,  in  referring  to  this  i)art  of 
Mr.  Calhoun's  argument,  which  he  did  not  consider  it  neces- 
sary to  repeat,  observed  that  he  had  shown,  "  that  Messrs. 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  under  a  commission  from  their  Govern- 
ment, first  explored  the  waters  of  this  river  almost  from  its 


r 
•\  ■ 


w* 


il. 


t>' 


\  I 


■  J 


Pit' 


I' 


1 

1: 


!1- 


< 


#  i 


11^ 


232 


THE   NORTHERN   BRANCH   OP  THE   COLUMBIA. 


head-springs  to  the  Pacifc,  passing  the  winter  of  1806  and 
1806  on  its  northern  shore,  near  the  ocean."  These  statements 
however  do  not  corrcsj)ond  with  the  facts  themselves  which 
they  profess  to  represent. 

Mr.  Rush,  in  the  negotiations  of  1824,  had  set  up  for  the 
United  States  an  exclusive  claim  to  the  whole  territory  be- 
tween 42°  and  51"  north,  on  the  ground  that  •♦  it  had  been 
ascertained  that  the  Columbia  River  extended  by  the  River 
Multnomah  to  as  low  as  42°,  and  by  Clarke's  River  to  a  point 
as  high  up  as  51°,  if  not  beyond  that  point."  The  obscurity 
in  which  the  geographical  relations  of  the  Oregon  territory 
were  at  that  time  involved,  might,  to  a  certain  extent,  excuse 
the  mis-statement  of  Mr.  Rush  on  this  occasion,  for,  as  already 
observed,  it  has  been  subsequently  ascertained  that  the  source 
of  the  Multnomah  is  in  about  43°  45',  and  that  of  Clarke's 
River,  in  45°  30' ;  but  Mr.  Calhoun's  statement  involves  an 
historical  as  well  as  a  geographical  inaccuracy,  which,  under 
the  circumstances,  seems  to  have  been  intentionally  put  for- 
ward, since  it  is  repeated  by  Mr.  Buchanan.  It  is  presumed 
that  in  the  copy  of  the  correspondence  which  has  been  circu- 
lated in  the  public  journals,  and  which  has  been  published  in 
a  separate  form  by  Messrs.  Wiley  and  Putnam  of  Waterloo- 
place,  there  is  a  misprint  in  Mr.  Calhoun's  describing  Lev.is' 
River  as  the  principal  northern  branch,  more  particularly  as 
Clarke's  River  is  immediately  after  spoken  of  as  the  great 
northern  branch.  Lewis'  River  must  evidently  have  been  in- 
tended to  be  described  as  the  principal  southern  branch,  being 
the  river  on  which  the  Shoshonee  or  Snake  Indians  fish,  and 
which  the  travellers  reached  on  descending  the  Kooskooskee. 
This  inaccuracy  may  be  passed  over  as  an  error  of  the  press, 
but  in  respect  to  the  next  assertion  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  that 
Lewis  and  Clarke  followed  this  river  to  its  junction  with  the 
great  northern  branch,  which  they  called  Clarke's  River,  it  is 
not  borne  out  by  the  account  which  Lewis  and  Clarke  them- 
selves give.  On  Friday,  Sept.  0,  Captain  Clarke  and  his 
party  reached  the  first  river  on  the  western  side  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Clarke's  River, 
(Travels,  ch.  xvii.,)  running  from  south  to  north,  and  which, 
from  the  account  of  the  natives,  they  had  reason  to  suppose, 
after  going  as  far  northward  as  the  head-waters  of  the  Medi- 
cine River,  (a  tributary  of  the  Missouri,)  turned  to  the  west- 
ward and  joined  the  Tacoutche-Tesse  River.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  the  Tacoutche-Tesse,  discovered  by  Alexander 


V 


surrosKD  to  he  the  tacoutciie-ti:sse. 


233 


1806  and 
itatcments 
ves  which 

Lip  for  the 
rritory  bc- 
had  been 
the  River 
to  a  point 
obscurity 
1  territory 
nt,  excuse 
as  already 
the  source 
f  Clarke's 
volves  an 
ch,  under 
y  put  for- 
prcsumed 
een  circu- 
iblished  in 
Waterloo- 
ig  Lev; is' 
cularly  as 
the  great 
B  been  in- 
ich,  being 

fish,  and 
skooskee. 

the  press, 
loun,  that 
1  with  the 
liver^  it  is 
rke  them- 
i  and  his 

le  Rocky 
e'*  River, 
lid  which, 
)  suppose, 
the  Medi- 

the  west- 
ist  not  be 
Vlexander 


Mackenzie  in  1798,  was  siip|>ose(l  to  be  the  northernmost 
branch  of  thv  Cohimhia  down  to  so  late  a  period  as  1812. 
Thus  Alexander  von  Iluinboldt,  in  his  New  Spain,  (1.  i.,  c.  '2,) 
writes  : — "  Sous  Ics  54^  ;J7'  do  latitude  borcale,  dans  lo  paral- 
lele  de  Tile  do  la  Reino  Charlotte,  Ics  sources  (l<:  la  rlviirc  <le 
la  Pair  (Pence  River)  ou  d'0unif2,igah,  se  rapprochent  de  sopt 
licucs  dcs  sources  du  Tacoutclu'-Tesst',  que  Ton  suppose  Otrc 
identique  avcc  la  riviere  de  Colombia.  La  premiere  de  ccg 
rivieres  va  a  la  mcr  du  Nord,  aprcs  avoir  niele  scs  eaux  a 
celles  du  lac  de  I'Esclavc  et  a  celles  du  fleuvc  Mackenzie. 
La  seconde  riviere,  celle  de  CoIon)bia,  se  jettc  dans  I'Oct'an 
Pacifiquc  pres  du  Cap  Disappointment,  au  sud  do  Nootka- 
Sound,  d'apres  le  celebre  voyageur  Vancouver,  sous  les  40°  19' 
de  latitude." 

Mr.  Greenhow  (p.  285)  says,  "  Three  days  afterwards 
they  entered  the  principal  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia, 
to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Lewis :  and  in  seven  days 
more  they  reached  the  point  of  the  confluence  with  the  larger 
northern  branch,  called  by  them  the  ClarheJ'^  Such,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  account  of  the  travellers,  who  state  that,  hav- 
ing followed  the  course  of  the  Lewis  River,  they  reached  on 
the  I6th  of  October  its  junction  with  the  Columbia  River, 
(chap,  xviii..)  the  course  of  which  was  '•  from  the  north- 
west," as  Captain  Clarke  ascertained  by  ascending  it  some 
little  distance.  They  nowhere,  throughout  the  account  of 
their  travels,  call  this  main  river  by  any  other  name  than  the 
Columbia  :  they  nowhere  speak  of  it  by  the  name  of  Clarke's 
River  ;  it  is  a  reflection  on  their  memory  to  represent  them 
as  supposing  that  this  great  northern  branch  was  the  river  to 
which  they  gave  the  name  of  Clarke,  for  they  fully  believed, 
when  they  reached  the  main  stream,  that  they  had  reached 
the  Tacoutche-Tesse  of  Mackenzie,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
Columbia  of  Gray  and  Vancouver,  of  which  they  considered 
Clarke's  River  to  be  merely  a  tributary.  The  names  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke  are  totally  unconnected  with  the  great  northern 
branch  of  the  Columbia  River,  which  was  discovered  and  first 
explored  from  its  sources  in  about  52°  N.  L.,  by  Mr.  Thom- 
son, the  surveyor  or  astronomer  of  the  North-west  Company, 
in  1''311.  This  is  an  important  fact,  inasmuch  as  the  exclu- 
sive claim  of  the  United  States  was  advanced  in  1824,  to  the 
territory  as  far  north  as  51°,  expressly  on  the  ground  that 
Clarke's  River  extended  as  far  north  as  that  parallel,  or  even 
beyond  that  point,  which  is  not  the  case.     This  northern 


I  '• 


'i    ' 


234 


FORT   CLATSOr. 


f 


f  g 


«. 


i !  i  ,1 ,  ■,•■  flpvnf!  H 


Ft  I 


<    . 


hrnnch,  down  which  Mr.  Thomson  first  penetrated,  is  entitled 
to  he  considered  as  the  main  hrancii  of  the  Cohiml)in,  on  the 
well-known  principle  that  the  sources  most  distant  from  the 
sea  are  regarded  as  the  true  sources  of  a  river,  according  to 
which  doctrine  the  name  of  Columhia  has  heen  in  practice 
retained  for  this  northern  hranch,  whilst  distinctive  names 
have  heen  given  to  all  the  southern  tributaries. 

Mr.  Calhoun  continues  to  say,  "and  thence  they  (Lewis 
and  Clarke)  descended  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  where  they 
landed,  and  encamped  on  the  noiih  side,  on  Cape  Disappoint- 
ment, and  wintered.*^  The  meaning  of  this  passage  might  he 
doubtful,  unless  Mr.  Buchanan  had  cleared  it  up  by  his  ex- 
pression of  "passing  the  winter  of  1805  and  180G  on  its 
northern  shore,  near  the  ocean."  When  it  is  remembered 
that  it  is  the  possession  of  the  north  hank  of  the  river  which 
is  contested  by  the  two  parties  to  the  negotiation ;  and  that 
the  incidents  of  this  expedition  are  formally  alleged,  on  the 
side  of  the  United  States,  as  forming  part  of  the  ground-work 
of  their  exclusive  title,  and  that  the  IJritish  negotiators  have 
objected  throughout  to  the  alleged  completeness  of  the  title  of 
the  United  States,  on  the  express  ground  that  it  is  at  best  an 
aggregate  of  imperfect  titles,  and  that  the  distinction  between 
a  perfect  and  imperfect  title  is  not  one  of  degree,hni  of  kind, 
it  may  not  be  unimportant  to  remark,  that  Lewis  and  Clarke 
passed  the  winter  of  18ti5-6  on  the  southern  shore  of  the 
Columbia,  in  an  encampment  on  a  point  of  high  land  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  Netul.  It  is  perfectly  true  that,  having 
proceeded  down  the  Columbia  as  far  as  the  roughne£s  of  the 
waves  would  allow  them,  they  landed  on  the  north  side  on  the 
16th  of  November,  and  encamped  on  the  shore  near  a  village 
of  the  Chinnook  Indians,  just  above  high-water  mark,  where 
Captain  Clarke  remained  for  nine  days,  until  Captain  Lewis 
had  succeeded  in  selecting  a  favourable  spot  for  their  winter's 
encampment;  but  the  locality  where  they  encafnjyed  and  mn- 
iered,  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia,  amongst  the 
Clatsop  Indians,  and  from  this  very  circumstance  they  gave 
to  it  the  name  of  Fort  Clatsop,  which  is  so  marked  down  in 
the  map  prefixed  to  the  travels  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  with  the 
further  designation  of  "  The  wintering  post  of  Captains  Lewis 
and  Clarke  in  1805  and  1806."  Had  not  Mr.  Calhoun  speci- 
fied the  locality  of  this  winter's  encampment  as  an  element 
of  the  cumulative  title  of  the  United  States,  and  had  not  Mr. 
Buchanan  repeated  the  statement  of  his  predecessor  more  ex- 


. 


:.j.i: 


■i  xl 


M,\i 


SETTLEMENTS    OF   THE    UNITED    STATES. 


•233 


is  on  tilled 
)in,  on  tlic 
t  from  tlio 
cording  to 
in  prncticc 
ivo   names 

ley  (Lnwis 
v'horo  they 
)isappoint- 

0  miglit  be 
jy  his  ex- 
!!iOG  on  its 
membercd 
ver  which 
;  and  that 
cd,  on  the 
jund-work 
ators  have 
the  title  of 
at  best  an 
n  between 

t  of  kind, 
nd  Clarke 
►re  of  the 
nd  on  the 
it,  having 
3£s  of  the 
de  on  the 
a  village 
rk,  where 
lin  Lewis 
r  winter's 

1  and  V'in- 
3ngst  the 
hey  gave 

down  in 
with  the 
ins  Lewis 
•iin  speci- 
I  element 
1  not  Mr. 
more  ex- 


plicitly, it  would  not  have  been  thought  necessary  to  discuss 
the  circumstances  so  fidly ;  but  as  one  object  of  this  in({iuiy 
is  to  clear  up  the  fticis  of  the  case,  which,  from  the  nature  of 
the  subject,  are  obscure,  if  this  error  of  statement  had  not  been 
pointed  out,  it  might  havo  tended  to  increase  the  existing  in- 
tricacy of  the  question,  more  particularly  when  it  has  an  ofii- 
cial  character  impressed  upon  it.  It  can  hardly  bo  supposed 
to  be  an  error  of  the  press,  since  Cape  Disappointment, 
which  is  on  the  north  bank,  is  referred  to  by  ]\Jr.  Culhouu 
as  adjoining  the  spot  where  they  •'  encamped  and  win- 
tered," 

The  result  of  this  inquiry  cannot  h^'  better  summed  up 
than  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Pakcnham's  counter-statement : — 
"  With  respect  to  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  it  must, 
on  a  close  examination  of  the  route  pursued  by  theni,  be  con- 
fessed, that  neither  on  their  outward  journey  to  the  Pacific, 
nor  on  their  homeward  journey  to  the  United  States,  did  they 
touch  upon  the  head- waters  of  the  principal  branch  of  the 
Columbia  River,  which  lie  far  to  the  north  of  the  parts  of  the 
country  traversed  and  explored  by  them. 

'  Thomson,  of  the  British  North-west  Company,  was  the 
first  civilised  person  who  navigated  the  northern,  in  reality 
the  main  branch  of  the  Columbia  River,  or  traversed  any  part 
of  the  country  drained  by  it. 

"  It  was  by  a  tributary  of  the  Columbia  that  Lewis  and 
Clarke  made  their  way  to  the  main  stream  of  that  river,  which 
they  reached  at  a  point  distant,  it  is  believed,  not  more  than 
200  miles  from  the  point  to  which  the  river  had  been  previ- 
ously explored  by  Broughton. 

"  These  facts,  the  undersigned  conceives,  will  be  found 
sufficient  to  reduce  the  value  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  explora- 
tion on  the  Columbia  to  limits,  which  would  by  no  means 
justify  a  claim  to  the  whole  valley  drained  by  that  river  and 
its  branches." 

Mr.  Calhoun  next  proceeds  to  state  the  grounds  on  which, 
as  alleged,  priority  of  settlement  was  no  less  certain  on  the 
side  of  the  United  States  : — "  Establishments  were  formed  by 
American  citizens  on  the  Columbia  as  early  as  1809  and  1810. 
In  the  latter  year  a  company  was  formed  at  New  York,  at 
the  head  of  which  was  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant of  that  city,  the  object  of  which  was  to  form  a  regular 
chain  of  establishments  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  the  con- 
tiguous coasts  of  the  Pacific,/or  commercial  purposes.    Early 


■    *      ' 

•  i 

.1  J' 


>A 


Mr 


H 


.1 


11 


■i  '■ 


^ 


a 


236 


jMH.    henry  8    TRADIWO   POST. 


'!,■■'■  ■■.;.? 


I 


«    : 


in  the  sprin;^  of  1811,  they  made  their  first  cstabHshmenf  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  a  few  miles  above  Point  George, 
where  they  were  visited  in  July  following  by  Mr.  Thomson, 
a  surveyor  and  astronomer  of  the  North-west  Company,  and 
his  party.  They  had  been  sent  out  by  that  company  to  fore- 
stall the  American  company  in  occupying  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  but  found  themselves  defeated  in  their  object.  The 
American  company  formed  two  other  connected  establish- 
ments higher  up  the  river  :  one  at  the  confluence  of  the  Oka- 
ncgan  with  the  north  branch  of  the  Columbia,  about  6U0 
miles  above  its  mouth,  and  the  other  on  the  Spokan,  a  strean> 
falling  into  the  north  branch,  some  fifty  miles  above." 

Mr.  Calhoun,  in  making  the  above  general  allusion  to 
establishments  formed  in  1809  and  1810,  may  be  supposed  to 
refer  to  a  trading  post  founded  by  Mr.  Henry,  one  of  the 
agents  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Company,  on  a  branch  of  the 
LcM'is  River,  the  great  southern  arm  of  the  Columbia.  This 
post,  however,  was  shortly  abandoned  in  consequence  of  the 
hostility  of  the  natives,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  sup- 
plies, (Greenhow,  p.  292.)  It  would,  however,  be  rather 
an  overstrained  statement  to  describe  this  hunting  station  as 
an  establishment  formed  on  the  Columbia,  considering  its 
very  great  distance  from  the  junction  of  the  Lewis  River  with 
the  Columbia.  Mr.  Calhoun,  however,  may  be  alluding  at 
the  same  time  to  the  undertaking  of  Captain  Smith,  in  the 
Albatross,  in  1810,  who  is  said  by  Mr.  Greenhow  to  have  at- 
tempted to  found  a  trading  post  at  Oak  Point,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Columbia,  about  forty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and 
to  have  almost  inimediatelv  abandoned  the  scheme.  Such  an 
attempt,  however,  can  hardly  be  entitled  to  the  character  of  a 
settlement.  Beyond  these  two  instances,  it  is  believed  that 
there  is  no  occasion  on  record  of  the  presence  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States  on  the  west  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
during  the  years  of  1809-10,  which  could  give  rise  to  the 
supposition  of  an  establishment  having  been  formed  by  them. 
In  respect,  however,  to  IVlr.  Astor's  Adventure,  the  Pacific 
Fur  Company  was  a  mere  mercantile  firm,  the  formation  of 
which  originated  with  Mr.  Astor,  a  German  by  birth,  and 
ultimately  a  naturalized  citizen  of  the  United  States.  The 
original  company  was  formed  in  1810,  and,  according  to  Mr. 
Washington  Ir"ing,  consisted  of  Mr.  Astor  himself,  three 
Scotchmen,  who  were  British  subjects,  and  one  native  citizen 
of  the  United  States.     Three  more  Scotchmen,  and  two  more 


ASTORIA    NOT    A    NATIONAL    SETTLEMENT. 


237 


hment  on 
it  George, 
Thomson, 
pany,  and 
ly  to  forc- 
ith  of  the 
ect,  'J^hc 
cstablish- 
f  the  Oka. 
about  600 
,  a  strcan> 
e." 

Ilusion  to 
ipposed  to 
iie  of  the 
ich  of  the 
«a.  This 
ice  of  the 
riing  sup- 
be  rather 
station  as 
daring  its 
liver  with 
lluding  at 
ith,  in  the 
)  have  at- 
the  south 
outh,  and 
Such  an 
Lcter  of  a 
eved  that 
itizens  of 
ouutains, 
se  to  the 
by  them. 
Pacific 
nation  of 
irth,  and 
Bs.  The 
ig  to  Mr. 
3)f,  three 
^e  citizen 
two  more 


citizens  of  the  United  States  were  subsequently  adniitttd,  so 
that  the  majority  of  the  company  were  liritish  subjects,  and 
they  had  received  an  e.\|)ress  assurance  from  Mr.  Jackson, 
the  British  Minister  at  Washin^jiou,  that  "  in  rase  of  a  war 
between  the  two  nations,  tht-y  would  be  respected  as  lirilish 
suhjcvh:  and  mcrchantsy^  [(iree'uhow,  j).  295.]  Mr.  Astor 
stipulated  to  retain  half  the  shares  for  himself,  and  in  rc'tiirn 
to  bear  all  the  losses  for  the  first  five  years,  duririjj  wliicli 
period  the  parties  had  full  power  to  abandon  and  dissolve  the 
asssociation.  A  detachment  of  the  partners  arrived  at  the 
Columbia  River  in  IHll,  and  formed  a  tradinj^  establishment 
on  the  southern  bank  of  the  river,  on  Point  Gef)rge,  not  far 
from  the  mouth,  which  they  named  Astoria.  Mr.  VV'asbin^r- 
ton  Irving,  who  had  bis  information  from  Mr.  Astor  himself, 
terms  their  establishment  "a  trading  house,"  [Ch.ip.  i.\.]  Not 
long  after  their  arrival  they  received  information  from  (ho 
Indians,  that  the  North-west  Company  had  erected  a  trading 
house  on  the  Spokan  River,  which  falls  into  the  north  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  and  they  were  preparing  to  dispatch  a  rival 
detachment  to  act  as  a  counter-check  to  this  establishment, 
when  Mr.  David  Thomson,  with  a  party  under  the  protection 
of  the  British  flag,  having  descended  the  Columbia  from  its 
northernmost  source,  arrived  at  Astoria.  On  his  return  Mr. 
Stuart,  one  of  the  partners  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  ac- 
companied Mr.  Thomson's  party  a  considerable  distance  up 
the  Columbia  River,  and  established  himself  for  the  winter  at 
the  junction  of  the  Okanogan  with  the  Columbia,  at  about 
140  miles  from  the  Spokan  River  ;  here  Mr.  Stuart,  according 
to  Mr.  Washington  Irving,  considered  himself  near  enough 
to  keep  the  rival  establishment  in  check.  It  would  thus  appear 
that  the  earliest  settlement  on  the  Spokan  River  was  made 
by  the  North-west  Company,  and  from  Mr.  Washington 
Irving's  account,  seems  almost  to  have  preceded  the  founda- 
tion of  Astoria  ;  for  whilst  the  Astorians  were  occupied  with 
their  building,  they  heard  from  the  Indians  that  white  men 
*'  were  actually  building  houses  at  the  Second  Rapids."  If, 
however,  it  was  not  antecedent,  it  was  at  least  contempo- 
raneous. 

It  can  hardly  be  contended  that  the  settlement  at  Astoria 
had  a  definite  national  character,  much  less  that  it  could  im- 
part the  national  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  to  the 
territory,  wherein  it  was  established.  The  Astorians  might 
perhaps  maintain  their  claim  to  the  domain  (dominium  utile,) 

11* 


k' 


23S 


Tin:    NOKTII  UKST    CUMI'AXY, 


I 


«    f 


I*!-''''!-' 


i\ 


I " 


■•.'I' 


m 


l)iit  llint  tlicy  shouM  set  up  a  litlo  to  tho  sovf^rcignty  (dojni- 
liiim  (Miiiiicns.)  or  In-  Ik  Id  to  convoy  a  title  to  any  state  which 
should  (diodse  lo  assert  it  through  th(;iM,  is  not  cont'or  nahl-!  to 
the  practice  of  nations.  IJut  the  plenipotentiaries  of  tho 
Uniti'd  States  contend  that  they  I  ave  an  exclusive;  title  to  .ho 
entire  valley  of  the  Coluinhia,  hy  virtue  of  tliis  settlement, 
ypain,  ho\v(  ver,  did  nf)t  admit  this  tith^  in  the  n.'ijotiations 
pr<Mteding  the  J'lorida  Treaty,  nor  did  the  United  States  v(!n- 
ture  to  set  it  uj).  When  Don  liuis  d'Onis,  in  resuming  tho 
ne.'^otiations,  proposed,  in  his  letter  of  January  10,  1819, 
(Urilish  and  Foreign  Slate  Papers,  1819-20,  p.  505,)  to  con- 
cede, on  tho  part  of  his  Catholic  Mnjesty,  as  the  houndary 
between  the  two  states,  "a  line  from  the  source  of  the  Mis- 
souri, westward,  to  tho  Columbia  River,  and  along  tho  midillc 
thereof  to  the  i'acilic  Ocean,"  and  trusted  it  would  bo  ac- 
ceptcMl,  as  presenting  "the  means  of  realizing  the  President's 
great  plan  of  extending  a  navigation  from  tho  Pacific  to  tho 
remotest  points  of  the  northern  seas,  and  of  the  ocean,"  no 
<.laim  was  advanced  to  tho  valley  of  tho  Columbia  ;  but  iMr. 
Adams  briefly  stated,  in  reply,  that  "  tho  proposal  to  draw  the 
western  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  th(; 
Spanish  territories  oii  this  continent,  from  tho  source  of  the 
Missouri  to  tho  Columbia  River,  cannot  be  admitted."  Again, 
when  the  Spanish  commissioner,  in  his  letter  of  February  1, 
1819,  stated  that,  "considering  the  motive  for  declining  my 
j)roposal  of  extending  the  boundary  line  frotn  the  Missouri  to 
the  Columbia,  and  along  that  river  to  tho  Pacific,  appears  to 
bo  the  wish  of  tho  President  to  include  within  the  limits  of 
the  Union  all  the  branches  and  rivers  emptying  into  the  said 
River  Columbia,"  and  proposed  to  draw  the  boundary  along 
tho  River  S.  Clemento,  or  Multnomah,  to  'he  sea;  and  de- 
livered a  project  of  a  treaty,  in  which  it  Wiis  stipulated  that 
his  Catholic  IMajesty  shoidd  cede  all  the  country  belonging  to 
him  eastward  of  tho  boundary  line  to  the  United  States  ;  no 
original  title  to  tlie  entire  valley  of  the  Columbia, no  claim  to 
the  settlement  of  Astoria,  as  a  national  settlement,  was  ad- 
vanced by  the  United  States  :  yet  Astoria  was  on  the  western 
sido  of  tho  Multnomah  or  Willamette  River,  as  it  is  now 
called,  and  was  assumed  in  both  the  above  proposals  to  bo 
beyond  the  limits  of  "  the  dominions  of  tho  Republic." 

Astoria  passed  into  the  hands  of  tho  North-west  Company 
by  peaceable  transfer.  It  was  sold  by  the  partners  resident  in 
Iho  establishment,  after  they  had  dissolved  the  association, 


Tlin  UMTKD  STATKS  IS  POSSKSSION  OF  ASTORIA.       2n9 


y  (doini- 
to  which 
iinhh  t(i 
•i  of  tho 
k;  to  Jio 
tleriiont. 
otiations 

itCS   V(!M- 

iiiii;^  the 
0,  1819, 
I  lo  con- 
oundary 
the  Mis- 

0  midillc 

1  ho  ac- 
nsidont's 
ic  to  tho 
pan,"  no 

hut  Mr. 
haw  tho 
and  tho 
3  of  the 
Again, 
nmry  1, 
ing  my 
isoiiri  to 
)ears  to 
iinits  of 
ho  said 
y  along 
md  i\e. 
pd  that 
ging  to 
OS  ;  no 
laim  to 
vas  ad- 
kvcHtern 
is  now 
s  to  he 

mpany 
dent  in 
?ia<ion, 


which,  hy  tho  tornis  of  tho  contract,  tho  parties  had  |)ow(r  to 
do.  Whon  Captain  IMack,  in  his  IJrilannic  .M.ijosty's  sloop- 
of-war  t!io  Racoon,  iirrivod  there  in  18 lU,  ho  did  not  capture 
Astoria,  for  it  was  not  the  |)rop(Tty  of  an  enemy,  hut  ho  took 
possession  of  it  in  tho  name  of  his  Hrilannic  y^ajesty,  and 
hoisted  tho  Hrilish  ensign  ;  thor('l)V  forniallv  ass"rling  tho 
sovereignty  of  (Jreat  IJritain  over  tlio  |)roporly  of  British 
.s'lhjects.  In  IS18.  tho  government  of  th(!  I'nited  States  was 
formally  |)!aco(l  in  possession  of  Astoria  ;  and  this  was  the 
tirst  occasion  on  which  an  act  of  sovereignty  was  exorcised 
by  tiiat  Power.  Mr.  Calhoun  states  that  this  act  "  placed 
our  possession  where  it  was  before  it  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Hritish  subjects."  On  the  contrary,  it  placed  Astoria  in  tho 
ban  Is  of  the  government  of  l!io  United  States,  in  which  hands 
it  had  never  been  bel'ore  :  for,  antecedently  to  tho  transfer  to 
the  North-west  Company  by  purciiaso,  it  was  in  tho  hands  of 
an  association,  tho  majority  of  whioli  were  British  subjects, 
who  could  not,  according  to  any  received  principle  of  inter, 
national  law,  1)0  held  to  have  represented  tho  sovereignty  of 
the  United  States. 

It  was  admitted  by  Loril  Castlereagb,  in  tho  discussions 
with  Mr.  Rush  antecedent  to  tho  restoration  of  Astoria,  that 
tho  United  States  wore  entitled  to  bo  reinstateil  there,  and 
♦'  to  be  the  party  in  possession  whil.sf  trcftliiig  of  the.  lillry 
At  that  time  the  United  States  had  confined  their  claims  to 
tho  restitution  of  a  post,  which,  as  they  asserted,  "had  been 
established  by  them  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  had  been 
taken  during  tho  war,  and  consequently  came  within  the  pro- 
visions of  the  first  article  of  the  Treaty  of  CJhont."  Mr. 
Bagut,  in  his  reply  to  Mr.  Adams,  of  26th  Ncvembcr,  1817, 
(British  and  Foreign  Slate  Papers,  182l-'J2,  p.  461,)  stated 
that,  '*  from  the  reports  made  to  him,  it  appeared  that  the  post 
had  not  been  captured  during  the  late  war,  but  that  the  Ame- 
ricans had  retired  tVom  it  under  an  agreement  made  with  the 
North-west  Company,  who  bad  purchased  their  eficcts,  and 
who  had  ever  since  retained  peaceable  jiossession  of  the 
coast."  The  whole  discussion  was  thus  evidently  limited  to 
tho  settlement  at  Astoria;  and  Lord  Castlereagb  admitted,  on 
the  statement  of  the  United  States,  that  they  had  a  prima 
facie  claim  to  be  reinstated  in  the  post,  in  conformity  to  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty,  and  to  be  the  party  in  possession 
whilst  treating  of  the  title. 

Mr.  Calhoun,  in  the  further  course  of  his  argument,  con* 


=f: 


HI 


240 


MR.    CALHOUN  8    ARGUMENT. 


I 


i  ■, 


^  if   ■■"■   I 


ii 


I,;: 


it"  I 


; :  I- 


m.:. 


i\\ 


-ii' 


-"11 

-■•' ;!(! 


. )!'! 


'I'i 

'ill 

■■'I 


m 


1 1 


ill 


S 


■if!! 


tends  that,  after  this  admission  on  Iho  part  of  Lord  Castlc- 
reagh,  the  Convention  of  1818  "  preserved  and  perpetuated 
all  our  rlaitns  to  the  fcrrilory,  incltulinji^  the  acknowledjjed 
right  to  be  considered  tlui  parly  in  posscssum  ;"  and  Mr.  Bu- 
chanan, in  still  more  exphcit  language,  maintains  the  same 
position.  "  He  claims,  and  he  thinks  he  hjis  shown,  a  clear 
title,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  the  whole  region 
drained  by  the  Columbia,  with  the  right  of  being  rcinstaled, 
and  considered  the  ])arty  in  posscs.siun  whilst  treating  of  the 
title  ;  in  which  character  he  must  insist  on  their  being  con- 
sidered, in  conformity  with  positive  .'r^aty  stipulations.  He 
cannot,  therefore,  consent  that  they  shall  be  regarded,  during 
the  negotiations,  merely  as  occupunis  in  common  with  Great 
Britain.  Nor  can  he,  while  thus  regarding  their  rights,  pre- 
sent a  counter-proposal,  based  on  the  supposition  of  joint  oc- 
cupancy merely,  until  the  question  of  title  to  the  territory  is 
fully  discussed."  This  argument  is  essentially  unsound 
throughout.  The  title  of  the  United  States  to  possess  the 
settlement,  in  other  words,  not  to  be  excluded  from  the  terri- 
tory, is  strangely  confounded  with  the  title  to  exclude  the  Bri- 
tish from  the  entire  territory.  These  titles  are  assumed 
to  be  identical,  being  most  distinct.  Great  Britain  does  not 
require  to  be  considered  as  an  occupant  in  common  of  Astoria. 
The  United  States  were  never  admitted  by  positive  treaty  stijm- 
lotions  to  be  the  party  entitled  to  be  considered  in  possession 
of  the  whole  region  of  the  Columbia,  which  Mr.  Buchanan 
maintains  to  have  been  conceded  by  Lord  Castlereagh.  But 
Great  Britain  does  require  to  be  considered  as  an  occupant  in 
common  of  the  region  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  United  States 
is  entitled  to  the  right  of  adverse  possession  as  far  as  the 
settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  on  its  south  bank  is  con- 
cerned. What,  however,  is  the  effect  of  such  a  right  of  pes- 
session  ?  Simply  that,  as  far  as  the  settlement  of  Astoria  is 
concerned,  it  is  not  necessary  for  the  United  States  to  prove 
its  right  of  dominion.  Its  right  of  possession  is  a  valid  right, 
unless  a  right  of  dominion  can  be  established  by  some  other 
Power.  But  Great  Britain  asserts  no  right  of  dominion, — she 
does  not  claim  to  evict  the  United  States  from  its  actual  pos- 
session,— but,  as  she  claims  no  exclusive  title  for  herself,  so 
she  recognises  no  exclusive  title  in  any  other  Power.  The 
principle  of  a  mutual  right  of  occupancy  of  the  territory  was 
admitted,  when  it  was  agreed  that  the  United  States  should 
be  placed  in  possession  sub  modo,  whilst  treating  of  the  title. 


I'OSSESSION    SUB    MODO. 


241 


•d  Castlc- 
rpetuated 
owledjjcd 
1  Mr.  Bu- 
thc  same 
1,  a  clear 
>le  region 
einsfatedj 
ig  of  the 
eing  con* 
ons.     Ho 
id,  during 
ith  Great 
[;hts,  pro- 
joint  00- 
irritorv  is 
unsound 
ssess  the 
the  tcrri- 
;  the  Bri- 
assumed 
does  not 
Astoria, 
ity  stijnt' 
ossession 
(ichanan 
rh.    But 
iqmnt  in 
}d  States 
r  as  the 
i.  is  con- 
t  of  pos- 
.storia  is 
to  prove 
id  right, 
le  other 
•n, — she 
ual  pos- 
rsclf,  so 
r.     The 
ory  was 
!  should 
le  title. 


The  question,  however,  between  the  two  governments  was  not 
one  of  law,  but  o[  fact.  Issue  had  been  joined  in  the  pre- 
vious letters  between  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Minisster 
of  Great  Britain,  at  Washington  :  whilst  the  former  asserted 
Astoria  had  been  captured  during  the  war,  the  latter  main- 
tained that  it  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  North-west 
Company  by  peaceable  purchase. 

The  United  States  asserted  that  Astoria  had  become  a  Bri- 
tish possession  by  virtue  of  the  jm?  helli^  the  operation  of  which 
was  in  this  case  expressly  suspended  by  the  first  article  of  the 
Treaty  of  Ghent :  on  this  plea  they  claimed  that  it  should  be 
restored  to  them.  Great  Britain,  on  the  other  hand,  maintain- 
ed that  it  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  North-west  Com- 
pany by  peaceable  purchase  :  on  this  plea  they  contended 
that  the  United  States  were  not  entitled  to  demand  its  restora- 
tion. When,  therefore,  the  United  States  acquiesced  in  the 
proposal  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  they  admitted  the  legal  eifcct  of 
the  fact  asserted  bv  Great  Britain,  if  it  could  be  substantiated. 
They  thus  admitted  the  common  right  of  Great  Britain  to  form 
settlements,  by  agreeing  to  treat  of  the  title  on  the  ground  al- 
leged by  Great  Britain,  precisely  as  Great  Britain  admitted  a 
corresponding  right  in  the  United  States,  by  agreeing  to  dis- 
cuss the  alleged  fact  that  Astoria  had  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  British  ^Mre  belli,  by  which  it  was  implied  that  it  had 
been  antecedently  a  possession  of  the  United  States.  We 
thus  find  in  the  negotiations  of  1818,  which  terminated  in  the 
Convention  of  the  20th  October,  concluded  fourteen  days  af- 
ter  the  actual  restoration  of  Astoria,  that  Messrs.  Gallatin  and 
Rush  nowhere  hint  at  an  exclusive  title  in  the  United  States. 
"  We  did  not  assert,''  they  say  in  their  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  of 
October  20,  1818,  "  that  the  United  States  had  vl perfect  right 
to  that  country,  but  insisted  that  their  claim  was  at  least  good 
against  Great  Britain,"  (British  and  Foreign  State  Papers, 
1819-20,  p.  169.)  Yet.  in  the  face  of  this  solemn  admission, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  earliest  negotiations,  and  of  the 
fact  that  the  title  has  been  treated  of  on  so  many  occasions, 
Mr.  Buchanan  now  asserts  that  "  our  own  American  title  to 
the  extent  of  the  valley  of  the  Columbia,  resting  as  it  does  on 
discovery,  exploration,  and  possession — a  possession  acknow- 
ledged by  a  most  solemn  act  of  the  British  government  itself, 
is  a  sufficient  assurance  against  all  mankind ;  whilst  our  su- 
ptradded  title  derived  from  Spain  extends  our  exclusive  rights 
over  the  whole  territory  in  dispute  against  Great  Britain." 


»"/■ 


242 


MR.    BUCHANAN  S     ASSERTIOX. 


^^>Jvtv  ill 


.'rt' 


III 


If*'  -'*:■  *^;i| 


rtl 


III' 


'  ■ill 


Such  is  the  outline  of  the  grounds  on  which  the  United 
States  sot  up  an  exckisive  title  to  the  entire  valley  of  the  Co- 
lumhia.  that  is,  a  title  to  exclude  Great  Britain  from  making 
settlements  there.  Mr.  Buchanan  observes,  that  this  title  is 
"older  than  the  Florida  Treaty  of  February  1819,  under 
which  the  United  States  acquired  all  the  right  of  Spain  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America,  and  exists  independently  of  its 
provisions.  Even  supposing,  then,  that  the  British  construc- 
tion of  the  Nootka  Sound  Convention  was  correct,  it  could  not 
apply  to  this  portion  of  the  territory  in  dispute.  A  convention 
between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  originating  from  a  dispute 
concerning  a  petty  trading  establishment  at  Nootka  Sound, 
could  not  abridge  the  rights  of  other  nations.  Both  in  public 
and  private  law,  an  agreement  between  two  parties  can  never 
bind  a  third,  without  his  consent,  expressed  or  implied." 

Mr.  Buchanan  thus  appears  disposed  to  renounce  the  deri- 
vative  title  of  Spain,  upon  which,  as  completing  the  defects  in 
the  original  title  of  the  United  States,  considerable  stress  had 
been  elsewhere  laid,  *'  supposing  the  British  construction  of 
the  Nootka  Convention  to  be  correct  :"  in  other  words  the 
commissioners  of  the  United  States  claim  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  provisions  of  this  convention,  if  they  can  be  mtide  to 
support  their  title,  but  to  repudiate  them,  if  they  should  be  found 
to  invalidate  it,  which  of  course  is  inadmissible.  But  when 
Mr.  Buchanan  says,  "  A  convention  between  Great  Britain 
and  Spain  could  not  abridge  the  rights  of  other  nations,''^  though 
the  proposition  bo  abstractedly  true,  yet  on  this  occasion  it 
does  not  apply.  First  of  all,  oecause  Great  Britain,  in  recog- 
nising the  right  of  Spain  to  make  settlements  on  the  north- 
west coast  in  places  not  yet  occupied,  did  not  either  at  the 
time  of  the  convention,  or  subsequently,  recognise  such  a  right 
as  an  exclusive  right  in  respect  to  other  nations.  Secondly, 
because  Spain,  in  recognising  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to 
make  settlements  in  an  analogous  manner,  did  not  thereby 
declare  other  nations  excluded  from  making  settlements  ;  in 
fact,  there  is  not  a  single  word  within  "  the  four  corners" 
of  the  treaty,  which  can  be  held  to  abridge  the  rights  of  other 
nations.  Thirdly,  because  jthe  United  States,  at  the  time 
when  the  convention  was  concluded,  had  no  other  right  than 
that  of  making  settlements,  which  Great  Britain  has  never 
once  maintained  that  the  Nootka  Convention  abridged,  nor 
does  it  at  this  moment  contend  so. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  United  States  had  an  exclusive  ti- 


\ 


•■:>'■■  .ipl 

i 

i 

^HTrV'" ■%*   . 

MR.  CALHOUN  S    ADMISSION. 


243 


le  United 
of  the  Co- 
in  makinjj 
lis  title  is 
19,  under 
)ain  to  the 
itly  of  its 
construc- 
coiild  not 
onvention 
a  dispute 
[a  Sound, 
in  public 
can  never 
id." 

!  the  deri- 

defects  in 

stress  had 

uction  of 

vords  the 

lemselves 

t  m.ide  to 

[be  found 

Jut  when 

Britain 

,"  though 

;casion  it 

n  recog- 

north- 

Br  at  the 

h  a  right 

econdly, 

ritain  to 

thereby 

ents  ;  in 

corners 

of  other 

he  time 

^ht  than 

s   never 

ged,  nor 

lusive  ti- 


le 


)) 


tie  to  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  before  the  Treaty  of  Florida, 
or  in  other  words,  as  assorted  in  lS-i4,  to  the  entire  territory 
between  51°  and  42°,  and  that  title  existed  independently 
of  its  provisions,  it  is  ditticult  to  understand  the  object  of  the 
protracted  negotiations  between  Don  Luis  de  Onis  and  Mr. 
Adams,  which  resulted  in  his  Catholic  Majesty  first  withdraw- 
ing from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Columbia  River,  then 
from  ('to  Columbia  to  the  Multnomah  or  Willamette  River,  and 
tinally  ceding  all  his  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions  to  the  ter- 
ritory north  of  the  parallel  of  42°.  Mr.  Buchanan's  position  is 
untenable  in  the  face  of  the  negotiations  antecedent  to  the 
Florida  Treaty. 

The  original  title,  however,  of  the  United  States,  does  not 
satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  law  of  nations,  in  the  extent  in 
which  it  is  maintained  to  b;j  effective.  Lot  it  be  kc|>t  in  mind 
that  Great  Britain  has  never  claimed  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
settling  on  the  north-west  coast  of  Amcricp.  tofhc  north  of  the 
parts  occupied  by  Spain,  but  she  maintains  her  right  not  to  be 
excluded  from  any  places  not  already  occupied.  The  United 
tes,  on  the  other  hand,  are  not  satisfied  with  claiming  a 

•r: :  to  make  settlements,  but  they  assert  a  rifjfht  to  exclude 

icat  Britain  from  making  settlements,  and  this,  too,  by  virtue 
of  an  act  performed  by  a  private  citizen,  without  any  commis- 
sion from  the  state,  subsequent  to  the  time  when  the  right  of 
Great  Britain  to  make  settlements  had  been  formally  recog- 
nised by  Spain  in  a  solemn  treaty,  and  was  thus  i)atent  to  the 
civilised  world. 

This  very  act,  however,  Mr.  Calhoun  admits  to  be  defective 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  exclusive  title,  when  he 
says,  *' Time,  indeed,  so  far  from  impairing  our  claims,  has 
greatly  strengthened  them  since  that  period,  for  since  then  the 
Treaty  of  Florida  transferred  to  us  all  the  rights,  claims,  and 
pretensions  of  Spain  to  the  whole  territory,  as  has  been  stated. 
In  consequence  of  this,  our  claims  to  the  portion  drained  by 
the  Columbia  River — the  point  now  the  suliject  of  considera- 
tion— have  been  much  strengthened  by  giving  us  the  i/tcon^e*/- 
ahle  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the  river  by  Heceta  above 
stated." 

It  is  thus  admitted,  that  the  first  entering  of  the  River  Co- 
lumbia by  Gray,  was  not  a  discovery,  but  an  exploration. 
There  can  be  no  second  discovery  for  the  purpose  of  founding 
an  exclusive  title.  Heceta's  discovery  is  incontestable  for 
the  purpose  of  barring  any  subsequent  claim  by  discovery,  and 


■-jf 


244 


IMPERFECT   TITLE    OF   SPAIN. 


..     K"..' 


It 


'  I  <'■'. 


the  original  title  of  the  United  States,  resolves  itself  into  a 
title  founded  upon  the  first  exploration  of  the  entrance  of  tho 
Columbia  from  the  sea,  and  on  the  first  exploration  of  its 
southern  branches  from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Such  a  title, 
however,  can  neither  from  the  nature  of  things,  nor  the  prac- 
tice of  nations,  establish  a  right  to  exclude  all  other  nations 
from  every  part  of  the  entire  valley  of  the  Columbia.  On 
the  contrary,  the  assertion  of  such  a  right  is  altogether  at  va- 
riance with  the  comity  of  nations,  on  which  alone  title  by  dis- 
covery rests.  For,  if  the  United  States  maintain  that  thedis* 
covery  of  the  Columbia  River,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
a  territorial  title,  dates  from  the  enterprise  of  Gray,  they  set 
aside  the  discovery  of  Heceta,  in  opposition  to  the  comity  of 
nations  ;  yet  it  is  upon  this  very  comity  of  nations  that  they 
must  rely  to  obtain  respect  for  their  own  asserted  discovery. 

But  when  Mr.  Calhoun  maintains  that,  by  the  Florida 
Treaty,  the  title  of  the  United  States  was  much  strengthened 
by  the  acquisition  of  the  incontestable  claim  to  the  discovery 
of  the  river  by  Heceta,  he  admits  that  the  title  of  the  United 
States  was  an  imperfect  title  before  that  treaty  ;  for  a  perfect 
title  is  incapable  of  being  strengthened, — exclusiveness  does 
not  admit  of  degree.  That  the  title  of  the  United  States  to 
form  settlements  in  the  parts  not  occupied  was  strengthened 
by  the  Florida  Treaty,  is  perfectly  true.  Great  Britain,  be- 
fore that  treaty,  might  have  refused  to  recognise  any  title  in 
the  United  States  under  the  general  law  of  nations  ;  but  after 
that  tre  Ay,  she  would  be  precluded  by  the  provisions  of  the 
Nootka  Sound  Convention,  as  the  United  States  would  thence- 
forward represent  Spain,  and  allege  a  recognised  right  of  mak- 
ing settlements  under  that  convention  ;  but,  that  the  original 
title  of  the  United  States,  which  was  not  an  exclusive  title  by 
the  law  of  nations,  could  become  an  exclusive  title  against 
Great  Britain  by  the  acquisition  of  the  title  of  Spain,  which 
was  expressly  not  exclusive  under  a  treaty  concluded  with 
Great  Britain,  independently  of  other  considerations  which 
were  duly  weighed  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Nootka  Conven- 
tion, requires  only  to  be  stated  in  plain  language  to  carry  with 
it  its  own  refutation. 

The  effects  of  the  Nootka  Convention,  or  rather  Conven- 
tion of  the  Escurial,  have  already  been  discussed  in  the  two 
preceding  chapters.  Mr.  Buchanan,  in  his  letter  of  July  12, 
1845,  says,  "  Its  most  important  article  (the  third)  does  not 
even  grant  in  affirmative  terms  the  right  to  the  contracting  par- 


k 


■,  a; 


XR.  Buchanan's  statement. 


245 


self  into  a 
mce  of  the 
ition  of  its 
Lich  a  title, 
T  the  prac- 
ler  nations 
tnbia.  On 
sthor  at  va- 
itle  by  dis- 
hat  thedis* 
stablishing 
Yy  they  set 
comity  of 
3  that  they 
liscovery. 
le  Florida 
rcngthened 
!  discovery 
the  United 
r  a  perfect 
)eness  does 
I  States  to 
[engthened 
ritain,  be- 
ly  title  in 

but  after 
)ns  of  the 
Id  thence- 
it  of  mak- 
le  original 
ve  title  by 
le  against 
lin,  which 
ided  with 
ns   which 

Conven- 
arry  with 

Convfn- 
n  the  two 

July  12, 
)  does  not 
cting  par- 


ties to  trade  with  the  Indians  and  to  make  settlements.  It 
merely  engages  in  negative  terms,  that  the  subjects  of  the 
contracting  parties  'shall  not  be  disturbed  or  molested*  in  the 
exercise  of  these  treaiy-priviJeges."  Surely  there  is  a  contra- 
diction of  ideas  in  the  above  passages.  How  can  the  right  to 
trade  with  the  Indians  and  to  make  settlements  be  termed  a 
treaty-privilege  in  the  latter  sentence,  when  in  the  former 
sentence  it  is  expressly  denied  to  have  been  granted  by  the 
treaty  ?  Mr.  Buchanan,  however,  in  asserting  that  the  third 
article  did  not  grant  in  affirmative  terms  the  right  specified  in 
it,  adopts  precisely  the  same  view  that  the  Britisli  commis- 
sioners have  throughout  maintained  ;  namely,  that  the  third 
article  did  not  contain  a  grant,  but  a  mutual  acknowledgment 
of  certain  rights  in  the  two  contracting  parties,  with  respect 
to  those  parts  of  the  north-western  coast  of  America  not  al- 
ready occupied.  Mr.  Buchanan,  however,  in  a  subsequent 
letter  says,  "  The  Nootka  Convention  is  arbitrary  and  artifi- 
cial in  the  highest  degree,  and  is  anything  rather  than  the 
mere  acknowledgment  of  simple  and  elementary  principles 
consecrated  by  the  law  of  nations.  In  all  its  provisions  it  is 
expressly  confined  to  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  and  acknow- 
ledges no  right  whatever  in  any  third  Power  to  interfere  with 
the  north-west  coast  of  America.  Neither  in  its  terms,  nor 
in  its  essence,  does  it  contain  any  acknowledgment  of  pre- 
viously subsisting  territorial  rights  in  Great  Britain,  or  any 
other  nation.  It  is  strictly  confined  to  future  engagements, 
and  these  are  of  a  most  peculiar  character.  Even  under  the 
construction  of  its  provisions  maintained  by  Great  Britain,  her 
claim  does  not  extend  to  plant  colonies,  which  she  would  have 
had  a  right  to  do  under  the  law  of  nations,  had  the  country 
been  unappropriated  ;  but  it  is  limited  to  a  mere  right  of  joint 
occupancy,  not  in  respect  to  any  part,  but  to  the  whole,  the 
sovereignty  remaining  in  abeyance.  And  to  what  kind  of 
occupancy  ?  Not  separate  and  distinct  colonies,  but  scattered 
settlements,  intermingled  with  each  o*her,  over  the  whole  sur- 
face  of  the  territory,  for  the  single  purpose  of  trading  with 
the  Indians,  to  all  of  which  the  subjects  of  each  Power  should 
have  free  access,  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  remaining 
suspended.  Surely,  it  cannot  be  successfully  contended  that 
such  a  treaty  is  'an  admission  of  certain  principles  of  inter- 
national law,'  so  sacred  and  so  perpetual  as  not  to  be  annulled 
by  war.  On  the  contrary,  from  the  character  of  its  provisions, 
it  cannot  be  supposed  for  a  single  moment  that  it  was  intend- 


^ 

^i 

.1, 


'!■      :       '     '. 


n  J 


\l 


348 


TEnUlTOiilAL   BIGHTS. 


<  .ii:i:i 


cd  for  any  purpose  but  that  of  a  mere  temporary  arrangement 
bot\vi;cii  iGrreat  Britain  and  Hpain.  The  law  of  nations  rocog- 
nisos  no  such  principles,  in  regard  to  unappropriated  territory, 
as  those  embraced  in  this  treaty,  and  the  British  plenipoten- 
tiary must  fail  in  the  attempt  to  prove  that  it  contains  'an 
admission  of  certain  principles  of  international  law'  which 
will  survive  the  shock  of  war." 

Almost  all  the  topics  in  the  above  j)assagc  have  been  al- 
ready discussed  in  the  two  previous  chapters,  as  they  were 
very  dextrously  urged  by  the  commissioners  of  the  United 
States  in  the  course  of  the  previous  negotiations  ;  ?o  that  a 
detailed  examination  of  them  on  this  occasion  will  not  be  re- 
quisite. The  lirst  article,  however,  does  contain  an  acknow- 
lodgment  of  previously  subsisting  territorial  rights^  for  it  was 
agreed  that  "  the  buildings  and  tracts  of  land,  of  which  the 
subjects  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  were  dispossessed,  about 
the  month  of  April  178*J,  by  a  Spanish  officer,  shall  be  restored 
to  the  said  British  subjects."  This  article  of  the  treaty,  when 
placed  side  by  side  with  the  declaration  on  the  part  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty  of  an  exclusive  right  of  forming  establish- 
ments at  the  port  of  Nootka,  and  with  the  counter-declaration 
on  the  part  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  of  his  right  to  such  es- 
tablishments as  his  subjects  might  have  formed,  or  should  be 
desirous  of  forming  in  iuture,  at  the  said  bay  of  Nootka,  can- 
not be  held  to  contain  an  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of 
Spain  of  a  previously  subsisting  territorial  right  in  Great 
Britain.  In  respect  to  its  provisions  for  the  future,  and  to  the 
interpretation  which  the  commissioners  of  the  United  States 
have  sought  to  affix  to  the  word  "settlement,"  namely,  that 
mere  trading  posts  or  factories  were  contemplated,  it  has  been 
shown  in  the  previous  chapters,  that,  from  the  language  of 
the  treaty  itself,  in  which  the  word  "settlements"  is,  in  three 
other  places,  employed  to  designate  territorial  possessions,  and 
from  the  general  language  of  treaties,  such  as  the  Treaty  of 
Paris  in  1763,  as  contrasted  with  the  Treaty  of  London  in 
181.5,  such  a  view  is  quite  incapable  of  being  satisfactorily 
established  :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  by  implication  refuted  by 
the  very  stipulations  in  the  tifth  article,  for  free  access  and 
unmolested  trade  with  tb^se  very  settlements.  Again,  the 
character  of  the  provision;"  ^  the  convention  is  alleged  to 
evince  the  intention  of  its  mg  a  mere  temporary  arrange- 
ment. Such,  however,  w  o  not  the  opinion  of  Mr.  I'ox,  in 
respect  to  the  sixth  article    when  he  charged  the  British  Min- 


'•ii.'ii 


m 


w 


DKBATES  ty  THE    BRITISH    rARLIA3IE\T. 


247 


mgcment 

IS  rvCOrr- 

erritorv, 
ini|)otcn- 
ains  '  an 
''   which 


been  al- 
loy we  10 
:  United 
?o  that  a 
ot  be  re- 
acknow- 
)r  it  was 
hich  the 
(If  about 
restored 
y,  when 
t  of  his 
stablish- 
:;laration 
such  es- 
kould  be 
ka,  can- 
part  of 
n  Great 
d  to  the 
d  States 
ly,  that 
las  been 
uaoje  of 
n  three 
)ns,  and 
rcaty  of 
idon  in 
ictorily 
uted  bv 
ess  and 
ain,  the 
e^red  to 
rrangc- 
)x,  in 
^h  Min- 


ister with  having  renounced  the  previous  rights  of  Great  I»rit- 
ftiii  io plant  colonies  in  the  unoccupied  parts  of  Soutii  America  ; 
nor  of  Mr.  Stanley,  in  reference  to  the  third  article,  when  ho 
said,  "  Ttie  southern  fisheries  will  now  be  prosecuted  in  peace 
and  security  :"  nor  of  the  Duke  of  Montrose,  when  he  said, 

y  >  7  7 

"  The  great  question  of  the  southern  fishery  is  finally  estab- 
lished, on  such  grounds  as  must  prevent  all  future  dispute  ;" 
nor  of  Mr.  Pitt,  when  he  said,  that  ''  it  was  evident  that  no 
claim  (of  Spain's)  had  been  conceded, — that  our  right  to  the 
fisheries  had  been  acknowledged, — and  that  satisfaction  had 
been  obtained  for  the  insult  offered  to  th*  i  )wn,"  (Hansard's 
Parliamentary  History,  vol.  xxviii.,  p.  OVO  ;)  or,  as  otherwise 
reported,  "  the  claims  of  Spain  had  been  receded  from,  and 
every  thing  stated  in  the  royal  message  had  been  gained," 
(Gentleman's  Magazine,  vol.  Ixx.,  a.  d.  1790,  part  ii.,  p.  1160.) 
Mr.  Fox's  chief  cause  of  complaint  against  the  treaty  was, 
that  it  was  a  treaty  of  concessions  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain, 
and  not  of  acquisitions  :  and  when  Mr.  Grey,  in  taunting  the 
Minister,  complained,  as  instanced  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  "  that 
where  we  might  form  a  settlement  on  one  hill,  the  Spaniards 
might  erect  a  fort  upon  another,"  he  in  fact  complained,  not 
that  we  had  not  maintained  a  right  to  form  territorial  settle- 
ments, and  to  exercise  acts  of  sovereignty  in  them,  but  that 
we  had  not  asserted  this  right  so  as  to  exclude  the  Spaniards 
entirely  from  the  country.  Reference  has  been  made  to  these 
debater  in  the  British  Houses  of  Parliament,  rather  to  illus- 
trate than  to  prove  the  fact  of  the  treaty  having  been  regard- 
ed in  a  very  different  light  from  a  mere  temporary  engage- 
ment, by  those  who  contended  that  Great  Britain  had  conced- 
ed more  advantages  than  she  had  acquired.  Mr.  Pitt,  indeed, 
denied  Mr.  Fox's  positions,  and  in  answer  to  them  maintained, 
*'  that  though  what  this  country  had  gained  consisted  not  of 
new  rights,  it  certainly  did  of  now  advantages.  We  had  be- 
fore a  right  to  the  Southern  Whale  Fishery,  and  a  right  to 
navigate  and  carry  on  fisheries  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  to 
trade  on  the  coasts  of  any  part  of  it  north-west  of  America  : 
but  that  right  not  only  had  not  been  acknowledged,  but  dis- 
puted and  resisted :  whereas,  by  the  convention,  it  was  secured 
to  us — a  circumstance,  which,  though  no  new  right,  was  a  new 
advantage.^^  That  the  condition  of  intermixed  settlements, 
in  regard  to  unappropriated  lands,  is  clearly  recognised  by  the 
law  of  nations,  as  consistent  with  the  full  and  absolute  inde- 
pendence of  two  separate  nations,  has  been  already  shown  by 


■c: 


!•'■..  *|  . 


I'il'i' 


'}.^i: 


■' ,  * 


248 


MR.  fitt's  declaration. 


reference  to  acknowledged  authorities  on  international  law, 
so  that  Mr.  Buchanan's  cntir'^  argument  appears  to  have  been 
advanced  rather  upon  specious  than  solid  grounds. 

There  are  several  other  arguments  in  the  correspondence 
of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States  that  might  deserve 
attention,  were  it  not  that  the  discussion  would  exceed  the 
contemplated  limits  of  this  wor''--  which  has  probably  already 
attained  too  large  a  bulk.  It  has,  however,  been  found  im- 
possible to  compress  the  inquiry  within  narrower  bounds, 
without  incurring  the  double  risk,  on  the  one  hand,  of  ap- 
pearing to  those  who  are  imperfectly  informed  on  the  subject, 
not  to  have  given  sufficient  consideration  to  the  arguments 
of  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States, — and,  on  the  other 
hand,  of  causing  to  those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
facts,  some  dissatisfaction  by  too  cursory  an  exposure  of  the 
unsoundness  of  those  arguments.  Besides,  the  course  adopted 
has  been  thought  to  be  well  warranted  by  the  importe*  of 
the  question,  and  to  be  at  the  same  time  more  consisient 
with  the  respect  due  to  the  distinguished  negotiators. 


l^ 


i&j 


ional  law, 
fiave  been 

ipondence 
it  deserve 
cceed  the 
y  already 
ibund  im- 
r  bounds, 
id,  of  ap- 
e  subject, 
rguments 
1  the  other 
I  with  the 
ire  of  the 
ie  adopted 
rtP'  of 
consistent 

3. 


249 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


REVIEW  OF  THE  GENERAL  QUESTION'. 

Prcflumption  in  Favour  of  the  Common  Right  of  Great  Britain. — No 
exclusive  Rights  in  Spain  or  the  United  States. — Convention  of  1818. — 
Convention  of  1827. — Mr.  Rush's  Admission  in  1824,  that  the  United 
States  had  not  a  pcrfcci  Right. — Cession  of  Astoria. — Course  of  tho 
Negotiations — Messrs.  Rush  and  Gallatin  in  1818. — Mr.  Rush  in  1824. 
— Mr.  Gallatin  in  1826.— -Negotiations  of  1844-5. — Mr.  Buchanan's 
Offer — Mr.  President  Polk's  Message  to  Congress. — Conseqaences 
involved  in  the  two  Proposals. — Valueless  character  of  the  Country 
north  of  49''. — Consequences  of  the  Convention  of  1827  being  abrogat- 
ed.— Present  condition  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  jdanks  of  the 
Oregon. — Voyages  of  British  Subjects : — Drake, — Cook, — Vancouver. 
— Settlements  of  Great  Britain. — Settlements  of  the  United  States. — 
Rule  of  Partition  advanced  by  the  United  States  in  their  Negotiations 
with  Spain. — Its  Application  to  the  present  Question. — Objections  to 
it. — Mr.  Pakenham's  Letter  of  Sept.  12,  1844. — Suggestion  as  to  a  fur- 
ther Proposal  on  the  Part  of  Great  Britain. — Mr.  Webster's  Anticipa- 
tions of  the  future  Destinies  of  Oregon. — Mr.  Calhoun's  Declaration  in 
1843. 

The  failure  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  make  out 
their  exclusive  claim  establishes  at  once  a  conclusive  inference 
in  favour  of  the  common  title  of  Great  Britain.  The  proof 
required  in  the  two  cases  is  essentially  distinct.  Where  two 
nations  arc  already  settled  in  a  country,  the  onus  probandi 
rests  with  the  party  that  seeks  to  exclude  the  other.  Inde- 
pendent of  the  presumption  from  inference,  Great  Britain  has 
conclusive  prima  facie  evidence  of  a  right  to  form  settlements 
in  the  country  ;  first,  in  the  recognition  of  this  right  by  a 
Power  which  had  asserted  an  exclusive  title  to  the  entire 
country  under  the  guarantee  of  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  to 
which  all  the  great  colonial  Powers  in  America  were  parties, 
but  which  ultimately  abandoned  it  by  the  signature  of  the 
Convention  of  the  Escurial :  secondly,  in  the  undisturbed 
enjoyment  of  this  right  during  a  period  which,  according  to 
the  Civil  Law,  to  which  all  civilised  nations  agree  in  appeal- 
ing for  the  arbitration  of  public  differences  between  one  nation 
and  another,  from  the  necessity  of  some  common  standard, 


■r-  ■• 


■  ,'Pt  ■■'■'♦• 


\i/  $ 


\>  :; 


*■■  '^'^, 


r. 


■: 


ifr,-. 


■r.'i 


230 


PRESUMPTION    OP  A   COMMON    RIGHT. 


constitutes  a  valid  proscription,  such  as  was  rccojrnised  in  tho 
rnso  of  Russia  by  the  United  Slates  ii  1824,  and  by  Great 
Britain  in  Ib'^o ;  thirdly,  in  the  partition  havinjif  been  tho 
subject  of  repeated  nejrotiations,  and  more  especially  from  the 
proposals  to  negotiate  both  in  lt'24  and  1826  having  origi- 
nated with  the  United  States,  which  thereby  admitted  tho 
claims  of  Great  Britain  to  be  similar  in  kind  with  their  own, 
though  they  might  maintain  them  to  be  difTerent  in  decree. 

It  seems  to  have  been  contended  by  the  commissioners  of 
tho  United  States  in  the  course  of  the  last  negotiation,  that 
"  whilst  the  proper  title  of  the  United  States  gave  them  exclu- 
sive rights  against  all  mankind,  the  superaddition  of  the 
Spanish  title  extended  their  exclusive  right  as  against  Great 
Britain,"  (Letter  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  July  12,  1845.)  The 
enjoyment,  however,  of  the  territory  by  Great  Britain  was 
antecedent  to  the  proper  title  of  the  United  States,  whereas 
the  possession  of  the  United  States  can  be  accounted  for  con- 
sistently ,vith  the  continuance  of  the  common  right  of  Great 
Britain,  which  she  claims  by  virtue  of  a  title  antecedent  to 
such  possession.  But  if  tiie  superadded  Spanish  title  con- 
ferred  an  extension  of  exclusive  rights  on  the  United  States, 
it  must  have  been  pi'ojyrio  rigore  an  exclusive  title  ;  and  if  so, 
valid  against  the  United  States  themselves  :  so  that,  on  that 
supposition,  the  proper  right  of  the  United  States  could  not 
be  an  exclusive  right.  There  -annot  bo  two  exclusive  titles 
in  difTerent  nations  to  the  same  country,  and  Great  Britain 
would  be  expressly  debarred  by  the  provisions  of  the  Convcn- 
tion  of  the  Escurial  from  recognising  an  exclusive  title  in  tho 
United  States,  antecedent  to  their  acquisition  of  the  Spanish 
title  by  tho  Treaty  of  Florida,  ber-^use  she  had  recognised  in 
1790  the  right  of  Spain,  in  common  with  herself,  to  settle  in 
any  places  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America  not  as  yet 
occupied  :  whilst  she  could  not  recognise  the  lights  which 
devolved  to  the  United  States  from  Spain,  in  1819,  as  exclu- 
sive rights,  in  the  face  of  her  previous  admission  that  the 
United  States  were  entitled  to  be  considered  as  the  party  in 
possession  of  Astoria  whilst  treating  of  the  title,  and  in  con- 
travention to  the  third  article  of  the  Convention  of  1818,  which 
was  grounded  upon  the  basis  of  both  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  as  well  as  other  Powers,  having  at  that  time 
claims  to  the  country.  In  fact.  Great  Britain  had  apknow- 
ledged  the  common  title  of  Spain  before  the  time  when  the 
United  States  assert  their  own  exclusive  title  to  have  com- 


CONVENTION    OF    1819. 


251 


ised  in  tho 
I  by  Great 
;  been  tlio 
y  from  the 
ving  orifri- 
initted  tho 
their  own, 
1  degree. 
ssioners  of 
ation,  that 
lem  exclu- 
lon  of  Ihc 
inst  Great 
5.)       The 
(ritain  was 
s,  whereas 
[id  for  con- 
t  of  Great 
^cedent  to 
I  title  con- 
ted  States, 
and  if  so, 
t,  on  that 
could  not 
isive  titles 
at  Britain 
c  Convcn- 
itlo  in  tho 
e  Spanish 
ognised  in 
)  settle  in 
not  as  yet 
hts  which 
as  exclu- 
that    the 
e  party  in 
d  in  con- 
ns, which 
Itates  and 
that   time 
aqknow- 
when  the 
mve  com- 


menced ;  and  she  had  acknowledged  the  common  title  of  tho 
United  States,  pending  the  continuance  of  the  recognised 
title  of  Spain  :  so  that  she  is  precluded  from  recof^fnising  the 
title  of  either  slate  to  be  an  exclusive  one,  if  she  were  even 
disposed  to  do  so,  by  her  own  previous  acts. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States  themselves  are  pro- 
eluded  by  their  own  previous  acts  from  setting  up  either  their 
own  original  title,  or  their  derivative  title  from  Spain,  as  an 
exclusive  title. 

By  the  convention,  signed  at  London,  of  October  20,  1818, 
it  was  agreed  in  ♦he  third  article,  "  that  any  country  that  may 
be  claimed  by  ei  ler  party  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
westward  of  the  Slonv  Mountains,  shall,  together  with  its 
harbours,  bays,  and  creeks,  and  the  navigation  of  all  the  rivers 
within  the  same,  be  free  and  open  for  the  term  of  ten  years 
from  the  date  of  the  present  convention,  to  the  vessels,  citi- 
zens, and  subjects  of  the  two  Powers  ;  it  being  well  under- 
stood that  this  agreement  is  not  to  be  construed  to  the  preju- 
diee  of  any  claim  which  either  of  the  two  contracting  parties 
may  have  to  any  part  of  the  said  country,  nor  shall  it  be  taken 
to  affect  tlie  claims  of  any  other  Power  or  state  to  any  part 
of  the  said  country  ;  the  only  object  of  the  high  contracting 
parties,  in  that  respect,  being  to  prevent  disputes  and  difler- 
ences  among  themselves." 

This  article,  in  its  very  terms,  implies  the  renunciation  by 
both  parties  of  an  exclusive  right  to  the  entire  territory,  not 
merely  in  reference  to  each  other,  but  still  further  in  reference 
to  other  Powers. 

By  the  convention,  signed  at  London,  of  August  6,  1827, 
all  the  provisions  of  the  third  article  of  the  Convention  of 
1818  were  indefinitely  extended,  subject  to  abrogation,  at  the 
option  of  either  party,  upon  twelve  months'  notice ;  and  by 
the  third  article  it  was  stipulated,  that  *'  nothing  contained  in 
this  convention,  or  in  the  third  article  of  the  convention  of 
the  20th  October,  1818,  hereby  continued  in  force,  shall  be 
construed  to  ir.pair,  or  in  any  manner  affect,  the  claims  which 
either  party  may  have  to  any  part  of  the  country  westward  of 
the  Stony  or  Rocky  Mountains." 

What  those  claims  were  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  Convention  of  1818,  was  explicitly  stated 
by  Messrs.  Gallatin  and  Rush,  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States,  before  it  was  concluded.  In  their  letter  to 
Mr.   Adams,  of  October  20,   1818,  which  commences  with 


■H 


'I* 


;'J 


253 


n 


! 


ll 


! 


il 


1 


^iJii 


Ctliii: 


i..'.,i,V' t 


STATUS   ANTE  DELLt'M. 


these  words,  "  Wc  have  the  honour  to  transmit  a  convention, 
which  wo  concluded  this  day  with  the  British  plenipotentia* 
ries,"  they  state  in  reference  to  the  negotiations,  '*  We  did  not 
assert  that  the  United  States  had  a  perfect  right  to  that  coun- 
try, (i.e.,  the  country  westward  oftlio  Stony  Mountains,)  but 
insisted  that  their  claim  was  at  least  good  against  Britain." 
In  other  words,  the  plenipotentiaries  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  at  the  first  opening  of  the  negotiations  respecting  the 
definitive  adjustment  of  the  mutual  claims  of  the  two  parties 
westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  which  has  been  a  subject 
of  subsequent  negotiation  on  three  separate  occasions,  limited 
their  claims  expressly  to  an  imperfect  right, — a  right  in  com- 
mon  with  Great  Britain.  They  had  already,  in  assenting  to 
be  placed  in  possession  of  Astoria  "  whilst  treating  of  the 
title,"  according  to  Lord  Castlcrcagh's  agreement,  as  recorded 
by  Mr.  Rush,  admitted  the  common  right  of  Great  Britain  to 
possess  settlements  in  that  country.  The  United  States  had 
contended  that  Astoria  had  become  a  British  possession  ^'wre 
bellii  and  Great  Britain  had  covenanted  by  the  first  article  of 
the  Treaty  of  Ghent  to  restore  r;ll  her  acquisitions  made^'wre 
belli.  Great  Britain,  on  the  contrary,  had  maintained  that 
Astoria  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  North-west  Company 
by  peaceable  transfer.  In  agreeing  then  to  treat  of  the  title, 
the  two  parties  agreed  to  discuss  these  two  facts,  the  former 
implying  the  common  right  of  the  United  States  to  make 
settlements,  the  latter,  the  common  right  of  Great  Brit- 
ain. It  was  idle  to  enter  into  an  inquiry  into  the  respec- 
tive truth  of  the  alleged  facts,  unless  it  followed  that  the  title 
of  the  party  that  could  substantiate  its  statement  would 
thereby  be  at  once  established.  This  however,  implied  a 
possibility  on  either  side  of  a  rightful  title,  on  the  side  of  the 
United  States  by  the  Treaty  of  Ghent,  on  the  side  of  Great 
Britain  by  the  Law  of  Nations.  The  United  States  relied 
upon  the  status  ante  helium,  the  lawfulness  of  which,  in  this 
particular  case,  was  admitted  by  Great  Britain's  consenting 
to  entertain  such  a  title ;  Great  Britain  rested  on  the  received 
principles  of  international  law,  according  to  which  her  sub- 
jects, in  common  with  those  of  other  states,  were  entitled  to 
make  peaceable  acquisitions  in  such  parts  of  the  north-west 
coast  as  were  not  yet  occupied  by  any  other  civilised  nation, 
which  the  United  States  could  not  gainsay.  After  the  con- 
sent of  both  sides  to  treat  of  the  title  upon  this  footing,  it  is 
out  of  the  question  to  suppose  that  it  is  competent  for  either 


lOlRSK    OF    THE    NKaOTIATlOXS. 


aria 


convention, 
Rnipotcntia- 
We  did  not 
r»  that  coun- 
ntains,)  but 
st  Britain." 
the  United 
ipccting  the 
two  parties 
n  a  subject 
3ns,  limited 
;ht  in  com* 
ssenting  to 
ting  of  the 
as  recorded 
Britain  to 
States  had 
lession  Jure 
it  article  of 
made  ^Mre 
ained  that 
:  Company 
)f  the  title, 
the  former 
!  to  make 
reat  Brit- 
le  respec- 
it  the  title 
ent  would 
implied  a 
ide  of  the 
e  of  Great 
ites  relied 
h,  in  this 
onsenting 
e  received 
her  sub- 
entitled  to 
lorth-west 
3d  nation, 
the  con- 
>ting,  it  is 
for  either 


party  on  the  renewal  of  negotiations  to  set  up  an  exclusive 
title  :  such  a  proceeding  would  he  essontially  (i<:^rrssivcin  its 
character,  and  would  Ik;  altogether  inconsistent  with  the  tacit 
admission  on  both  sides,  when  they  agreed  to  entertain  the 
consideration  of  each  other's  title. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  examine  what  has  been  the  conduct 
of  the  two  parties  throughout  tiie  course  of  the  various  nego- 
tiations. 

It  having  been  expressly  slated  in  1818,  by  Messrs.  Rush 
and  Gallatin,  that  the  United  ^States  did  not  a.ssrrf  a  jtrrfcct 
right  to  the  country,  Mr.  Rush,  in  his  letter  to  Mr,  Alams, 
proceeds  to  state,  that  "  when  the  plcripotentiarics  o<'  tho 
United  Slates,  on  their  part,  stated,  'tha.'  ihore  was  no  n;ason 
why,  if  the  two  countries  extended  their  claims  westward,  tho 
boundary  limit  of  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latidide  itouhl  not 
be  continurd  to  the  Pacific  Occan,^^  the  Briiish  cort- ■lission'" ', 
though  they  made  no  formal  proposition  for  a  boundary,  i  'i- 
mated  that  the  river  itself  was  the  most  convenient  that  cc.ild 
be  adopted,  and  that  they  would  not  agree  to  any  :  ir.t  did  not 
give  them  the  harbour  of  the  mouth  of  the  rive  r,  //  •  common 
with  the  United  States. 

The  history  of  tho  subsequent  negotiations  will  show  t  mt 
on  each  occasion  the  United  States  have  increased  their 
claims  and  reduced  their  concessions,  while  Great  Britain  has 
not  only  not  increased  her  claims,  but  on  the  -ontrary  has 
advanced  in  her  concessions. 

Thus,  in  1824,  Mr.  Rush  commenced  the  negotiation  by 
claiming  for  the  United  States,  '*in  their  own  right,  and  as 
their  absolute  and  exclusive  sovereignty  and  dominion,  the 
whole  of  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  tho 
42d  to  at  least  as  far  up  as  the  51st  dt.'.r.o  of  north  latitude.'* 
He  further  said,  that  "  in  the  opinion  v  '  my  government,  the 
title  of  the  United  States  to  the  whole  of  that  coast,  from  lati- 
tude 42°  to  as  far  north  as  GC^,  wps  superior  to  that  of  Britain 
or  any  other  Power:  first,  through  the  proper  claim  of  the 
United  States  by  discovery  and  settlement ;  and  secondly,  as 
now  standing  in  the  place  of  Spain,  and  holding  in  their  hand<s 
her  title." 

In  accordance  with  these  views,  Mr.  Rush  annexed  to  the 
Protocol  of  the  12th  Conference  a  formal  proposal,  that 
Great  Britain  should  stipulate  that  her  subjects  should  make 
no  settlement  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  or  the  is- 
lands adjoining,  south   of  the  51st  degree  of  latitude ;  tho 

12 


it. 


■?■ 


y 


• 


254 


MR.    rush's    proposal. 


I 

I 


i' 


«•'!• 


H 


"5 


i: 


ft 


.hi 


L  7    .1 


United  States  stipulating,  that  none  should  be  made  by  her 
citizens  north  of  the  olst  degree.  The  British  negotiators  in 
reply  proposed  to  accede  to  a  line  along  the  49th  parallel  of 
north  latitude  as  far  as  the  north-easternmost  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  and  thence  down  the  middle  of  that  river  to  the 
sea,  the  navigation  of  the  river  to  be  for  ever  free  to  both 
parties.  The  commisioner  of  the  United  States,  on  the  other 
hand,  would  only  vary  his  proposed  line  to  the  south,  so  as 
to  consent  that  it  should  be  the  49th  instead  of  the  51st  de- 
gree of  north  latitude,  which  was  the  original  proposal  in  1818, 
with  the  navigation  of  the  river  free  to  both  parties. 

On  the  negotiations  being  resumed  in  1826,  Mr.  Gallatin, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  having  set  up  a  new  ground 
of  title  founded  on  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  from  France 
in  1803,  and  its  contiguity  through  the  intervening  chain  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  territory  under  discussion,  limit- 
ed his  ofier  to  the  49th  parallel  with  the  navigation  of  the 
river  free  to  both  parties,  as  before,  whilst  the  British  com- 
missioners expressed  their  willingness  to  yield  to  the  United 
States,  in  addition  to  what  they  first  offered,  a  detached  ter- 
ritory extending,  on  the  Pacific  and  the  Strait  of  Fuca, 
from  Bullfinch's  Harbour  to  Hood's  Canal,  and  to  stipulate 
that  no  works  should  at  any  time  be  erected  at  the  mouth 
or  on  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  calculated  to  impede  the 
free  navigation  of  that  river  by  cither  party. 

This  last  stipulation  was  evidently  adapted  to  obviate  a 
difficulty  which  Mr.  Prevost,  the  agent  of  the  United  States 
at  the  restoration  of  Astoria,  had  suggested  to  the  United 
States  Government  as  early  as  Nov.  11,  1818,  in  his  report 
upon  the  Columbia  River  : — "In  addition  to  this,  it  is  suscept- 
ible of  entire  defence,  because  a  ship,  after  passing  the  bar, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  breaking  of  the  sea  on  one  of  the  banks, 
is  obliged  to  bear  up  directly  for  the  knoll  forming  the  cape, 
at  all  times,  to  approach  within  a  short  distance  of  its  base, 
and  most  frequently  there  to  anchor.  Thus  a  small  battery 
erected  on  this  point,  in  conjunction  with  the  surges  on  the 
opposite  side,  would  so  endanger  the  approach  as  to  deter  an 
enemy,  however  hardy,  from  the  attempt."  (British  and 
Foreign  State  Papers,  1821-22,  p.  4C7.) 

In  the  negotiations  of  1844-5,  lately  brought  to  a  close, 
Mr.  Pakenham,  the  British  plenipotentiary  at  a  very  early 
period,  proposed  in  a  letter  of  Aug.  26,  1844,  in  addition  to 
what  had  been   already  ofTcied  on  the  part  of  the  United 


I : 


made  by  her 
legotiators  in 
h  parallel  of 
•ranch  of  the 
:  river  to  the 
free  to  both 
on  the  other 
south,  so  as 
the  51st  de- 
josal  in  1818, 
ies. 

tfr.  Gallatin, 
L  new  ground 
from  France 
ling  chain  of 
ission,  limit- 
fation  of  the 
British  com- 
3  the  United 
detached  ter- 
ait  of  Fuca, 
I  to  stipulate 
t  the  mouth 
impede  the 

to  obviate   a 

nited  States 

the  United 

in  his  report 

t  is  suscept- 

ing  the  bar, 

if  the  banks, 

g  the  cape, 

of  its  base, 

mall  battery 

rgcs  on  the 

s  to  deter  an 

British  and 

to  a  close, 

very  early 

addition  to 

the  United 


M«.  BUCHANAN  8    OFFER,  lISo 

States,  and  in  proof  of  the  earnest  desire  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty's  Government  to  arrive  at  an  arrangement  suitable 
to  the  interests  and  wishes  of  both  parties,  to  undertake  to 
make  free  to  the  United  States  any  port  or  ports  which  the 
United  States  Government  might  desire  either  on  the  main- 
land, or  on  Vancouver's  Island,  south  of  49°  ;  and  on  Mr. 
Calhoun's  declining  to  make  any  counter-proposal,  based  on 
the  supposition  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  being 
occupants  in  common,  Mr.  Pakenham  suggested  '*  an  ar- 
bitration, to  the  result  of  which  both  parties  should  be  bound 
to  conform  by  the  interchange  of  notes,  as  the  most  fair  and 
honourable  mode  of  settling  the  question,"  which  Mr.  Calhoun 
declined.  Mr.  Buchanan,  on  resuming  the  negotiations  after 
the  election  of  Mr.  Polk  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States,  copcluded  his  communication  of  July  12,  184.5,  to  Mr. 
Pakenham,  by  stating  that  the  President  would  not  have 
consented  to  yield  any  portion  of  the  Oregon  territory  had  ho 
not  found  himself  embarrassed,  if  not  committed,  by  the  acts 
of  his  predecessors,  and  that  he  was  instructed  to  propose  the 
49th  parallel  as  before  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  offering  at  the 
same  time  to  make  free  any  port  or  ports  on  Vancouver's 
Island  south  of  this  parallel,  which  the  British  Government 
may  desire. 

•'This  proposal,"  as  justly  observed  by  Mr.  Pakenham,  in  his 
reply  of  July  29,  1835,  "  was  less  than  that  tendered  by  the 
American  plenipotentiaries  in  the  negotiation  of  182G,  and 
declined  by  the  British  Government.  On  that  occasion  it 
was  proposed  that  the  navigation  of  the  Columbia  should  bo 
made  free  to  both  parties." 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  his  message  to 
Congress  of  the  1st  of  December,  1845,  after  briefly  review- 
ing the  course  of  the  several  negotiations,  concludes  that  por- 
tion of  his  message  with  these  remarkable  words  :  — 

"  The  civilised  world  will  see  in  these  proceedings  a  spirit 
of  liberal  concession  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  ;  and 
this  Government  will  be  relieved  from  all  responsibility  which 
may  follow  the  failure  to  settle  the  controversy." 

Mr.  Buchanan  had  stated  to  the  same  effect,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  letter  of  August  30,  1845,  that  not  "  only 
respect  for  the  conduct  of  his  predecessors,  but  a  sincere 
desire  to  promote  peace  and  harmony  between  the  two  govern- 
ments," had  actuated  the  President  to  offer  a  proposition  so 
liberal  to  Great  Britain. 


,'.? 


■.  ) 

J; 


■  i( . 


i  1 

II- 

.  r.- 


% 


;.: '- 


1?^ 


t;  ■■  .* 


mv\ 


\ 


256 


KFFECTS    OF   THE    VUOPOSALS. 


"  And  how  has  this  proposition  been  received  by  the 
British  plenipotentiary  ?  It  has  been  rejected  without  even  a 
reference  to  his  own  Government.  Nay,  more  ;  the  British 
plenipotentiary,  to  use  his  own  language,  *  trusts  that  the 
American  plenipotentiary,  will  be  prepared  to  offer  some 
further  proposal  for  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  question 
more  consistent  with  fairness  and  equity,  and  with  the  reason- 
able expectations  of  the  British  Government.'  " 

It  could  hardly  require  a  reference  from  Mr.  Pakenham  to 
the  British  Government  at  home,  to  satisfy  him  that  he  should 
at  once  decline  to  accept  a  less  liberal  offer  than  that  which 
his  Government  had  already  declined  on  two  previous  occa- 
sions.  Surely  the  meaning  of  the  word  *'  liberal"  must  have 
acquired  a  different  acceptation  in  the  United  States  from  what 
it  bears  in  the  mother-country,  or  the  notions  of  what  con- 
stitutes "  a  spirit  of  liberal  concession,"  must  be  very  different 
on  the  eastern  and  western  sides  of  the  Atlantic  ;  for,  in  the 
usual  signification  of  the  word  in  the  mother-country,  it  would 
be  bitter  irony  to  apply  such  a  term  to  the  proposal  authorised 
by  President  Polk,  expressly,  as  alleged,  in  deference  to  what 
had  been  done  by  Presidents  Monroe  and  Adams.  It  is  an 
offer  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Polk  to  share  a  worthless  haven  with 
Great  Britain,  when  his  predecessors  have  offered  to  share  the 
Great  River  of  the  West. 

The  offer  of  Great  Britain,  when  first  made  by  her  in 
1824,  would  have  imposed  upon  her  at  that  time,  if  accepted 
by  the  United  States,  as  likewise  at  the  present  time,  the 
necessity  of  ultimately  breaking  up  four  or  five  settlements, 
formed  by  her  subjects  within  the  limits  that  would  become 
prohibited ;  and  which  they  had  formed  under  the  belief  of 
their  full  right,  as  British  subjects,  to  settle  there.  "  But  their 
Government  was  willing  to  make  these  surrenders,  for  so  they 
considered  them,  in  a  spirit  of  compromise,  on  points  where 
the  two  nations  stood  so  divided,"  (British  and  Foreign  State 
Papers,  18v''i-26,  p.  519;)  whereas  the  United  States  would 
not  be  required  to  abandon  a  single  settlement ;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  would  retain  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Willamette, 
where  their  settlers  are  mostly  located.  The  proposal  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  other  hand,  would  require  that  Great 
Britain  should  abandon  the  majority  of  her  settlements,  and 
amongst  these  Fort  Vancouver,  the  depot  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  from  which  fourteen  other  settlements  receive 
their  supplies  ;  that  slie  should  resign  the  use  of  the  river,  the 


m 

■'■il 


ABUOGATION  OF  THE  CONVENTION'. 


20  I 


ived  by  the 
hout  even  a 

the  British 
3ts  that  the 

offer  some 
311   question 

the  reason- 

akenham  to 

it  he  should 

that  which 

;vious  occa- 

must  have 
}8  from  what 
'  what  con- 
3ry  different 
;  for,  in  the 
try,  it  would 
il  authorised 
jnce  to  what 
s.     It  is  an 

haven  with 
to  share  the 

by  her  in 

if  accepted 

time,  the 

settlements, 

become 

le  belief  of 

"But  their 

for  so  they 

>ints  where 

>reign  State 

Itates  would 

►n  the  con- 

illamctte, 

)Osal  of  the 

that  Great 

iments,  and 

Hudson's 

jnts  receive 

|o  river,  the 


free  navigation  of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  trans- 
port of  outfit". ..rd  their  returns;  that  she  should  be  precluded, 
not  merely  TroM  the  harbour  within  the  river,  but  from  tho 
harbours  in  Admiralty  Inlet,  the  only  really  valuable  harbours 
on  the  coast ;  that  she  should  give  up  the  agricultural  district 
round  Puget's  Sound,  where  the  fixed  population  of  British 
Canadians  are  located,  and  which  boars  a  similar  relation  to 
the  future  destinies  of  Northern  Orep;on,  that  the  valley  of 
the  Willamette  does  to  those  of  Southern  Oregon  ;  and  in 
this  proposal  Mr.  Buchanan,  in  his  letter  of  July  12,  1845, 
"trusts  that  the  British  Government  will  recognise  the  Presi- 
dent's sincere  and  anxious  desire  to  cuJlivafe  the  most  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  countries,  and  to  manifest  to  the 
world  that  he  is  actuated  hy  a,  spirit  of  moderation.^'  In  re- 
turn Great  Britain  is  to  be  allowed  to  retain  a  district  of 
barren  territory  in  Northern  Oregon,  in  whicli  Captain  Wilkes 
has  officially  reported  to  the  United  States,  that  "  there  is  no 
part  on  the  coast  where  a  settlement  could  be  formed  that 
would  be  able  to  supply  its  own  wants,"  and  which  even  for 
hunting  purposes  is  so  unproductive,  that  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  have  found  it  expedient  to  lease  other  hunting 
grounds  within  the  Russian  territories  ;  and  this  too,  when 
the  future  value  of  the  country  will  consist,  not  in  its  capa- 
bility to  supply  the  fur-trader  with  the  skins  of  th(;  beaver  ;  nd 
sea-otter,  but  in  the  adequacy  of  its  grazing  and  agricultural 
produce  to  support  a  fixed  body  of  inhabitants,  as  well  as  to 
victual  the  ships  of  various  nations  engaged  in  the  China  trade, 
and  in  the  fisheries  of  the  South  Sea.  Harder  conditions 
could  not  well  have  been  dictated  by  a  conquering  to  a  con- 
quered nation  as  the  price  of  peace,  neither  do  they  accord 
with  that  spirit  of  just  accommodation  with  which  Mr.  Rush, 
in  1824,  expressly  declared  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  to  be  animated,  nor  with  those  principles  of  mutual 
convenience  which  it  was  then  agreed  on  both  sides  to  keep 
in  view,  in  order  to  further  the  settlement  of  their  mutual 
claims. 

If  the  present  convention  should  be  abrogated  by  either 
party,  the  only  object  of  which,  according  to  the  express  de- 
claration of  the  two  contracting  parties,  was  "  to  prevent 
disputes  and  differences  amongst  themselves,''  the  existing 
condition  of  common  occupancy  does  not  thereby  termi- 
nate. Each  nation  will  still  be  bound  to  respect  the  settle- 
ments of  the  other.      The   mutual   rights  and   obligations 

12* 


■sr 


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11 


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■1   » 


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i 

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258 


PKESENT    CONDITION. 


recognised  by  Great  Britain  and  Spain  in  respect  to  each 
other,  in  the  Convention  of  the  EscurinI,  were  recognised 
once  and  for  all.  The  United  States  now  stands  in  the 
place  of  Spain  ;  she  assorts  that  by  tne  Treaty  of  Florida  she 
holds  in  her  hands  all  the  Spanish  title,  but  her  hands  arc 
also  bound  by  the  obligations  of  Spain.  By  the  Conven- 
tion of  the  Escurial,  the  liberty  of  {Vcc  access  and  un- 
molested  trade  with  the  settlements  of  each  other,  made 
subsequent  to  April  1789,  was  secured  to  either  party  :  in 
other  respects  their  settlements  wouhl  carry  with  them  the 
independent  rights,  which  the  law  of  nations  secures  to  the 
settlements  of  independent  powers.  Oregon  would  thus  be 
dotted  over  with  the  settlements  of  subjects  of  Great  Britain, 
and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  juxta-position  to  each 
other,  like  the  Protestant  and  Catholic  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land. The  tribunals  of  the  United  States  have  decided  in 
Wachbourne's  case  (4  John's  C.  R.  108)  and  in  other  cases, 
"  that  the  27th  article  of  the  Treaty  of  1793,  which  provided 
for  the  delivery  of  criminals  charged  with  murder  and  for- 
gery, was  only  declaratory  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  is 
equally  obligatory  on  the  two  nations  under  the  sanction  of 
public  law,  and  since  the  expiration  of  that  treaty,  as  it  was 
before."  So  far  the  recurrence  of  mutual  outrngcs  might  bo 
checked.  Still,  such  a  condition  of  things  would  leave  open, 
as  Mr.  Rush  observed  in  1824,  •'  sources  of  future  disagree- 
ment, which  time  might  multiply  and  nggravate."  It  is, 
therefore,  for  the  interest  of  both  parties,  that  a  line  of  de- 
marcation should  be  drawn,  to  prevent  the  possible  conflict  of 
jurisdiction.  A  few  square  miles,  more  or  less,  where  the 
entire  territory  to  be  shared  between  the  two  nations  extends 
over  a  district  of  more  than  600,000  square  miles,  can  form 
but  a  secondary  element  of  consideration  in  the  question.  If 
we  look  to  tlie  original  rights  of  the  United  Slates,  as  founded 
on  use  and  settlement,  they  point  exclusively  to  the  southern 
bank,  whilst  those  of  Great  Britain  point,  in  a  similar  manner, 
to  the  northern.  Citizens  of  the  United  States  first  explored 
the  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  whilst  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  first  explored  the  northern.  The  flag  of  the  United 
States  has  been  authoritatively  displayed  on  the  southern 
bank  alone,  whilst  the  British  ensign  has  exclusively  been 
hoisted  on  the  northern.  Whilst  the  valley  of  the  Willamette 
in  Southern  Oregon  is  cultivated,  according  to  Captain 
Wilkes,  hv  settlors  from  other  countries  besides  the  United 


^ 


tdljilitii 


^ili 


pect  to  each 
B  recognised 
lands  in  the 
f  Florida  she 
sr  hands  arc 
the  Convcn- 
css  and    un- 
other,   made 
;r  party  :    in 
ith  them  the 
ecurcs  to  the 
ould  thus  ho 
rreat  Britain, 
ition  to  each 
of  Switzer- 
e  decided  in 
I  other  cases, 
lich  provided 
der  and  for- 
tions,  and  is 
e  sanction  of 
ity,  as  it  was 
ajes  might  bo 
j  leave  open, 
ire  disagree- 
ate."      It  is, 
a  line  of  de- 
le conflict  of 
,  where  the 
ions  extends 
es,  can  form 
juestion.     If 
3,  as  founded 
the  southern 
lilar  manner, 
irst  explored 
els  of  Great 
'  the  United 
ho   southern 
isively    been 
Willamette 
to    Captain 
the  United 


BRITISH    VOYAOES. 


ii59 


States,  the  agricultural  establishments  on  the  Cowlitz  River, 
and  on  the  shores  of  Puget's  Sound,  in  Northern  Oregon,  are 
exclusively  the  creation  of  British  suhjects. 

Great  Britain  having  expressly  declared  in  1826,  that  she 
claimed  "  no  exclusive  sovereignty  over  any  portion  of  that 
territory,"  it  has  been  thought  unnecessary  to  set  out  in  full 
her  original  title,  as  against  the  United  States.  It  is  impos- 
sible in  the  present  day  to  ascertain  how  far  Drake  was  au- 
thorised to  make  discoveries  in  the  South  Seas  on  account  of 
his  sovereign.  We  are  informed  by  Stow  the  annalist,  that 
he  had  obtained  the  approval  of  Queen  Elizaheth  to  the  plan 
of  his  expedition,  through  the  interest  of  Sir  Christopher 
Hatton;  and  the  author  of  "The  World  Encompassed" 
affirms  that  he  had  a  commission  from  his  sovcreifrn,  and  that 
she  delivered  to  him  a  sword  with  this  remarkable  speech  : — 
"  We  do  account  that  he  which  striketh  at  thee,  Drake, 
strikes  at  us."  Captain  Burney's  opinion,  however,  seems 
most  to  accord  with  probability — that  he  had  no  wrilten  com- 
mission. The  Queen,  however,  on  his  return,  after  a  pro- 
tracted inquiry  before  her  Council,  upon  the  complaint  of  the 
ambassador  of  Spain,  approved  and  ratified  his  acts  ;  and  in 
her  reply  to  the  ambassador's  remonstrances  against  Drake's 
territorial  aggressions,  expressly  asserted,  according  to  Cam- 
den, that  as  she  did  not  acknowledge  the  Spaniards  to  have 
any  title  by  sanction  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  so  she  knew  no 
right  they  had  to  any  places  other  than  those  they  were  in 
possession  of,  (Cf.  supr.,  p.  161.)  Vattel  (b.  xi.,  §  74)  states 
the  law  that,  "  if  a  nation  or  its  chief  approves  and  ratifies 
the  act  of  the  individual,  it  then  becomes  a  public  concern." 
Drake  thus  appears  to  have  been  recognised  as  an  instrument 
of  his  sovereign ;  and  though  the  moderation  of  the  British 
Government  has  led  it  not  to  insist  upon  Drake's  discovery 
of  the  northwest  coast  as  far  as  48°,  though  it  was  coupled 
with  formal  acts  of  taking  possession  with  the  consent  of  the 
natives,  because  Great  Britain  did  not  follow  it  up  within  a 
reasonible  time  with  actual  settlements,  still  that  discovery 
has  not  lost  its  validity  as  a  bar  to  any  asserted  discovery 
of  a  later  period. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  expeditions  of  Captains  Cook  and 
Vancouver  satisfied  all  the  conditions  required  by  the  law  of 
nations  for  making  discoveries  and  forming  settlements.  Un- 
less Captain  King,  the  companion  of  Cook,  had  puhlished  his 
account  of  the  high  prices  which  had  been  obtained  bv  his 


'.i» 


I  d 


I* 


I  ■ 


260 


SETTLEMENTS  IN  THE  COUNTRY. 


F'l 


M 


sailors  for  tlio  furs  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America  in  the 
markets  of  China,  the  American  fur-trader,  as  Mr.  Greenhovv 
terms  Captain  GraVi  would  never  have  resorted  to  the  coast 
of  Oregon.  But  before  any  trading  vessel  of  the  United 
States  had  appeared  off  those  shores,  Captain  Cook  had 
traced  the  American  coast,  from  a  little  above  Cape  Mendo- 
cino to  Icy  Cape,  in  70°  29' ;  whilst  Vancouver  was  des- 
patched in  1791  expressly  by  tiie  British  Government,  to 
ascertain  what  parts  of  the  north-west  coast  were  open  for 
settlement  to  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  in  accordance  with 
the  3d  article  of  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial ;  and  after 
an  accurate  survey  reported,  that  the  Presidio  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  about  38°,  wafe  "the  northernmost  settlement  of  any 
description  formed  by  the  Court  of  Spain  on  the  continental 
shore  of  North-west  America."  To  Vancouver  the  civilised 
world  was  indebted  for  the  first  accurate  chart  of  the  entire 
coast.  The  important  services  rendered  to  navigation  and 
science  by  Vancouver  and  Lieutenant  Broughton,  were  fully 
acknowledge  d  by  Mr.  Gallatin  in  the  negotiations  of  1826  ; 
yet  all  these,  it  is  contended  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States,  are  entirely  superseded  by  Captain  Gray  hav- 
ing first  entered  the  mouth  of  the  chief  river  of  the  country. 

When  Mr.  Buchanan,  therefore,  at  the  commencement  of 
his  letter  of  August  30,  1845,  states,  **  that  the  precise  ques- 
tion under  consideration  simply  is,  were  the  titles  of  Spain 
and  the  United  States,  when  united  by  the  Florida  treaty  on 
the  22lI  of  February  1819,  good  as  against  Great  Britain,  to 
the  Oregon  territory  as  far  north  as  the  Russian  line,  in  the 
latitude  of  54°  40'  ?"  and  assumes,  as  a  consequence,  that  if 
they  were,  it  will  be  admitted  this  whole  territory  now  belongs 
to  the  United  States  ;  he  avails  himself  of  the  ambiguity  of 
the  term  title,  to  infer  that  the  establishment  of  a  common  title 
must  lead  to  the  admission  of  an  exclusive  title. 

With  much  more  reason  might  Great  Britain  have  set  up 
an  exclusive  title  against  the  United  States,  which  she  has, 
in  the  spirit  of  moderation,  forborne  to  do.  She  might  have 
said,  "  We  were  entitled  by  the  general  law  of  nations  to 
make  settlements  in  this  country,  as  being  unoccupied  by 
any  civilised  nation.  We  were  the  first  civilised  nation  that 
established  a  permanent  occupation  of  it,  which  has  never 
been  abandoned,  by  a  settlement  in  the  year  1806  on  Frazer's 
River.  We  have  since  that  time,  steadily  occupied  the  entire 
country  north  and  south  of  the  River  Columbia,  as  far  as  the 


R\,Ui    OF    PARTITION. 


uai 


> 


sources  of  Lewis  River,  where  Fort  Hall,  the  most  southern 
settlement  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  supplies  shtllcT 
and  food  to  the  wasted  and  famished  settler  from  the  United 
States,  on  his  first  entry  into  the  promised  land  of  Oregon.'' 
She  might  have  said,  "  Before  1833,  American  citizens,  oa 
the  testimony  of  their  own  countrymen,  had  no  settlements 
of  a  permanent  kind  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Even  in 
the  valley  of  the  Willamette,  where  Captain  Wilkes,  in  184(', 
found  not  more  than  sixty  families,  many  of  them  being 
British  subjects,  and  late  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, the  first  settlements  were  made  by  officers  of  that  Com- 
pany, under  the  encouragement  of  the  Company.  It  was 
owing  to  the  report  of  the  thriving  condition  of  these  farms 
having  been  carried  to  the  United  States  by  American  trap- 
pers, that  settlers  from  that  country  were  led  to  undertake 
the  long  and  perilous  journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
which  they  would  never  have  survived,  had  riot  the  British 
settlements  preceded  their  adventurous  enterprise,  and  fur- 
nished them  with  supplies  on  their  arrival."  Yet  after  an 
indisputable  use  and  enjoyment  of  this  country  by  British 
subjects  for  a  greater  period  of  time,  than  that  which  the 
United  States  admitted  by  treaty  in  1824,  to  establish  a  valid 
title  by  prescription  in  favour  of  Russia,  from  60°  north  lati- 
tude to  54°  40',  against  their  own  Spanish  derivative  title, 
the  President  of  the  United  States  declares,  in  his  solemn 
message,  his  *'  settled  conviction  that  the  British  pretensions 
of  title  could  not  be  maintained  to  any  portion  of  the  Oregon 
territory,  upon  any  principle  of  public  law  recognised  by 
nations." 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United  States,  in  their  nego- 
tiations with  Spain  respecting  the  boundary  of  Louisiana,  laid 
down  this  principle  as  adopted  in  practice  by  European 
Powers,  in  the  discoveries  and  acquisitions  which  they  have 
respectively  made  in  the  New  World, — that  "  whenever  one 
European  nation  makes  a  discovery,  and  takes  possession  of 
any  portion  of  that  continent^  and  another  afterwards  does  the 
same  at  some  distance  from  it,  when  the  boundary  between 
them  is  not  determined  by  the  principle  above  mentioned 
(viz.,  the  taking  possession  of  an  extent  of  sea  coast,)  the 
middle  distance  becomes  such  of  course."  (Cf.  supr.,  Ch. 
XHI.)  If  we  apply  this  rule  to  the  settlement  of  the  claims 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  either  in  respect  to  the 
conflict  of  their  original  titles,  or  in  respect  to  the  conflict  of 


•n 


%( 


it.";-''  i 


H] 


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■k 
? 

,  'n 

13 

i.-            '! 

1., 

, 

'  *  ■sb 

j  ' 

A^ 

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-'-  »id^3 

'i 

.'Vifl 

^  <'»jwn 

262 


llliJJSIAN   rossKssioxs. 


the  title  of  Great  Britain  rccojjniscd  in  the  Convention  of  the 
Escuriul,  with  the  title  of  the  United  States  devolved  to  them 
by  the  Treaty  of  Washington,  we  shall  find  it  confirm  the 
reasonableness  of  the  offer  made  by  Great  Britain.  It  was 
ascertained  by  Vancouver,  who  had  been  despatched  by  his 
sovereign  with  this  express  commission,  that  the  northernmost 
part  of  the  north-west  coast  already  occupied  by  Spain,  at  the 
signature  of  tlie  Convention  of  1790,  was  the  Presidio  of  San 
Francisco,  in  about  38°  north  latitude.  Vancouver  at  the 
same  time  ascertained  that  the  settlements  of  the  Russians 
extended  as  far  south  as  Port  Etches,  at  the  eastern  extremi- 
ty of  Prince  William's  Sound,  a  little  to  the  south  of  60°,  and 
thus  determined  the  extent  of  the  common  rights  of  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  under  the  convention,  which  Mr.  Pitt  declar- 
ed, as  first  Minister  of  the  Crown  of  England,  "  he  should  es- 
teem the  Government  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  highly  culpable 
if  they  neglected  to  ascertain,  by  actual  survey,"  (St.  James's 
Chronicle,  December  15,  1790.)  Both  the  United  States, 
however,  subsequently  to  their  acquisition  of  their  derivative 
Spanish  title,  and  Great  Britain,  have  recognised,  by  separate 
treaties  in  1824  and  1825,  the  territorial  rights  of  Russia  as 
far  south  as  54°  40'  north  latitude,  founded  on  the  use  and 
enjoyment  of  the  coast  by  Russian  subjects,  during  the  inter- 
vening period  between  Vancouver's  visit  and  the  publication 
of  the  Imperial  Ukase  of  September  16,  1821  ;  so  that  the 
rights  of  Great  Britain  to  form  settlements  under  the  Conven- 
tion of  the  Escurial,  are  thus  limited  by  her  own  act  to  the 
parts  of  the  coast  between  38°  and  54°  40',  and  the  United 
States,  by  a  similar  act,  have  confined  their  derivative  title  to 
the  same  northern  boundary.  When,  however,  the  United 
States  claim  to  hold  in  their  hands  the  title  of  Spain  against 
Great  Britain,  and  upon  the  strength  of  that  title  propose  to 
make  a  final  partition  of  the  territory  hitherto  the  subject  of  a 
common  occupation,  if  they  would  abide  by  their  own  rule,  as 
solemnly  propounded  by  their  commissioners  on  two  distinct 
occasions,  the  middle  distance  between  38°  and  64*^  40'  be- 
comes the  boundary  line  of  course.  The  extremities  of  the 
country  to  be  divided  are  thus  marked  out  by  the  Presidio  of 
San  Francisco  on  the  southern  side,  and  by  Fort  Frazcr  on  the 
northern,  and  nature  seems  to  have  accorded  the  embouchure 
of  the  Columbia  River,  in  the  latitude  of  46'^  18',  to  me;;t  the 
conditions  of  so  reasonable  a  rule,  as  that  which  the  United 


PROPOSALS  OF  GREAT  BRITAIN. 


263 


States  ihen  maintained  to  be  grounded  on  an  acknowledged 
principle  of  international  law. 

Such  a  rule  might  reasonably  be  resorted  to  on  this  occa- 
sion, as  furnishing  a  solution  to  the  problem  of  converting  the 
common  rights  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  into 
separate  rights.  The  United  States,  however,  might  admit 
that  the  principle  was  abstractedly  sound,  but  that  its  applica- 
tion, as  proposed,  was  inadmissible,  as  their  claim  commenced 
at  42'',  and  not  at  38®.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  de- 
rivative title  from  Spain  as  against  Great  Baitain,  if  it  be  ad- 
vanced as  the  basis  of  the  negotiation,  which  has  been  the 
case,  cannot  assume  a  different  form  in  the  hands  of  the 
United  States,  from  that  which  it  would  have  presented  in  the 
hands  of  Spain  herself:  otherwise,  the  less  Spain  had  ceded 
to  the  United  States,  the  more  the  United  States  would  be  en- 
titled to  claim  from  Great  Britain,  which  of  course  is  untena- 
ble. But  Great  Britain  has  conceded  to  the  TJnited  States 
more  than  the  limits  which  this  rule  would  assign  to  them, 
namely,  the  entire  left  bank  of  the  Columbia  River  as  far  as 
the  49th  parallel,  thereby  giving  up  to  them  the  exclusive 
possession  of  the  Lewis  River  and  the  Clarke  River,  and  the 
intermediate  territory. 

The  general  character,  however,  of  the  proposals  of  Great 
Britain  cannot  be  better  described  than  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Pakenham's  letter  of  Sept.  12,  1844  :— 

"  It  is  believed  that  by  this  arrangement  ample  justice 
would  be  done  to  the  claims  of  the  United  States,  on  what- 
ever ground  advanced,  with  relation  to  the  Oregon  territory. 
As  regards  extent  of  territory,  they  would  obtain  acre  for 
acre,  nearly  half  of  the  entire  territory  to  be  divided.  As  re- 
lates to  the  navigation  of  the  principal  river,  they  would  en- 
joy a  perfect  equality  of  right  with  Great  Britain  :  and  with 
respect  to  harbours.  Great  Britain  shows  every  disposition  to 
consult  their  convenience  in  this  particular.  On  the  other 
hand,  were  Great  Britain  to  abandon  the  line  of  the  Colum- 
bia as  a  frontier,  and  to  surrender  the  right  to  the  navigation 
of  that  river,  the  prejudice  occasioned  to  them  by  such  an  ar- 
rangement, would,  beyond  all  proportion,  exceed  the  ad- 
vantage accruing  to  the  United  States  from  the  possession  of 
a  few  more  square  miles  of  territory.  It  must  be  obvious  to 
every  impartial  investigator  of  the  subject,  that  in  adhering 
to  the  line  of  the  Columbia,  Great  Britain  is  not  influenced 
by  motives  of  ambition,  with  reference  to  extension  of  terri- 


^'i 


ii.' 


it:' 


K 


264 


FUTURE    DKSTINIES    OF   OREGON. 


1 


I 

'It 

«;  I.    1.,-  ■    •   . 
L,    .1    ■,  '  ■  •  V  ' 

i'  1.      ■■■:  ■  '< 


i; ; 


, 


';hI 


tory,  but  by  considcralions  of  utility,  not  to  say  necessity, 
which  cannot  bo  lost  sight  of,  and  for  which  allowance  ought 
to  be  made,  in  an  anangcnient  professing  to  be  based  on  con- 
siderations of  mutual  convenience  and  advantage." 

Great  Britain  has  advanced  in  her  oilers  on  each  separate 
negotiation.  Let  her  make  one  step  more  in  advance.  Let 
her  offer  to  the  United  States  to  declare  the  ports  in  Ad- 
miralty Inlet  and  Puget's  Sound  to  be  "  Free  Ports,"  with  a 
given  radius  of  free  territory.  The  advantage  which  she 
would  give  to  the  United  States,  would  far  exceed  the  preju- 
dice occasioned  to  herself  by  such  an  arrangement,  and  the 
proposal  would  be  in  accordance  with  the  principle  sanction- 
ed by  the  5th  article  of  the  Convention  of  the  Escurial,  which 
guaranteed  a  mutual  freedom  of  access  to  the  future  settle- 
ments of  either  party  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  If  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  Government  should  deem  it  consistent 
with  a  just  regard  to  the  interests  of  Great  Britain,  as  it 
w-ould  certainly  be  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  modera- 
tion which  has  hitherto  influenced  her  Majesty's  councils,  to 
make  this  further  offer,  and  if  the  President  of  the  United 
States  should  instruct  his  plenipotentiary  to  reject  it,  the  at- 
tempt to  effect  a  partition  of  the  territory  by  treaty  may  bo 
regarded  as  hopeless.  It  will  then  be  best  lor  both  parties 
that  the  Convention  of  1827  should  be  abrogated,  and  the 
future  destinies  of  the  country  be  regulated  by  the  general 
law  of  nations.  It  would  be  idle  to  speculate  upon  those  fu- 
ture destinies, — whether  the  circumstances  of  the  country 
justify  Mr.  Webster's  anticipations  that  it  will  form  at  some 
not  very  distant  day  an  independent  confederation,  or  whether 
the  natural  divisions  of  Northern  and  Southern  Oregon  are 
likely  to  attach  ultimately  the  former  by  community  of  in- 
terests to  Canada,  and  the  latter  to  the  United  States  of 
America.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Mr.  Calhoun  declared 
in  184.3,  that  "the  distance  for  a  fleet  to  sail  from  New 
York  to  the  Columbia  is  more  than  13,000  miles,  a  voyage 
that  would  require  six  months,"  and  that  "  the  distance  over- 
land, from  the  State  of  Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia River  is  about  2,000  miles,  over  an  unsettled  country  of 
naked  plains  and  mountains,  a  march,  if  unopposed,  of  120 
days,"  the  scepticism  of  such  as  doubt  the  inevitable  absorp- 
tion of  Oregon  into  the   United  States,  seems  at  least  to  be 

excusable. 

T  n  E  K  N  D . 


INDEX. 


Adaius,  .1.  Qiiincv,  ncp;otiatcs  the 
1  lorida  'I'riaty,  "l<'9. 

Ai;iiilar,  Martin  d',  5.'?,  OS. 

AlaiTdn,  Ft-rnaudo,  73. 

Alliidii,  Now,  l^>. 

Aiiahnac,  platt-au  of,  14. 

-AiidiTson  on  CoinnuTtM',  US,  15S. 

Anian,  Straits  of,  said  to  he  discover- 
ed by  Cortereul,  in  lotXt.  IS. 

Ar";onaiit,  llic,  seized  at  >iootka,  81. 

Arkansas  River,  H.'O,  170. 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  '£\,  2-m. 

Astoria,  established  in  1S11,24  Trans- 
ferred l)y  purcliase  to  North-west 
Company  in  l«i:3, 25,  192, 2:W.  Sur- 
rendered to  the  United  States,  2159, 
252  Suh  niodo,  241.  Not  a  nation- 
al settlement,  'i}7. 

Atlantic  Colonics,  213. 

Barclay,   Captain,   first  descries  the 

Straits  of  Fuca,  19,  62. 
Bchrinf!;^  Voyasre,  54.  | 

Bel>hain's  History  of  England,  92. 
Bernard,  St.,  Bay  of,  155.  | 

Biographie   Universelle,  <  rror  as  to 

Drake,  ',H),  3(>.     As  to  (iali,  54. 
Bod«>ra,  Port  de  la,  42,  5S. 
Bodega  y  Quadra,  5b'. 
Bracton  de  J>(  cibus,  113. 
Brou/^hton,   Lieut  ,  explores  the  Cf)- 

luml)ia,    104.     Takes   possession  of 

the  c<  uni rv.  !05. 
Br.ltinch's  ilirbour,  254. 
Bynker.-<hoek  on  Discovery,  118. 

Cabriilo,  .Juan  Rodri;i;ues,  voyuee  in 

1512,  2(). 
Caledonia,  New,  15. 
Calhoun,  Mr  ,  leitcr  of  Sept.  3,  1S44, 
^  200.     Speech  in  1843,  2()4. 
California,  peninsula  of,  discovered  in 
15;>J),  by  F.  de  UUo.-,  26.     A  penin- 
sula, 54.     Jesuit  missions,  54.     A 


cluster  of  i.-lands,  74.  Spanish  pos- 
sessions, l<i7. 

Camden,  Life  of  I'lizabeth,  4.5. 

Canada,  limits  of,  liA).  Cession  of, 
211. 

Carver,  Jonathan,  travels  in  North 
America,  lii.  First  ai.iHiunees  a 
river  called  Oregon,  or  the  Great 
Kiver  of  the  VV.sf,  l(j. 

Cascade  Canal,  20. 

Castillo,  D<imin;;ode,  2(). 

t'avendish,  Thomas,  voyage  of,  32. 

Cavallo,  Juan,  77. 

Channing,  Dr.  22S. 

Charters,  212.  Of  Georgia,  197.  Ca- 
rolina, IfMi.  To  what  extent  valid, 
157.  Of  the  Huds(.n's  Bay  C(  inpa- 
ny,  158.     Argument  from,  159. 

Clarke.     See  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

Clarke,  River,  discovered,  22,  233. 
Source  in  45°  30',  190. 

Clat-op,  Fort,  22,  '£i\. 

elide,  Edward,  his  narrative,  28. 

Colnett,  Capt,  62,  79.  Instructions 
to,  204. 

Colorado,  Rio,  del  Occidente,  14. 

Columbia,  country  of  the,  17.  Mouth, 
94.     Bay,   95.     River,    105.      Pro- 

fressive  discovery  of  the  River, 
08.  Proposed  as  a  boundary  by 
Sjiain,  in  1819,  lfi5.  Exploration  by 
(Jray,  243.  Northernmost  bank, 
191.  Course,  198.  Extent  of  val- 
ley, 198. 

Columbia,  merchant  ship,  16,(2.  Log 
book, 101. 

Congress,  documents  of,  208. 

Coniiguiiy,  doctrine  ail'  anced  hy  Mr. 
Gallatin, 2IS.  A  rciprocal title,  127. 

Convention  of  1818,  1  |.>.  178,  241.  Of 
1803,  not  ratified,  251.  Of  lfeC6, 
ditto,  147. 

Conventior.s,  transitory,  129.  Mixed, 
133. 


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INDEX. 


Cook,  Captain,  inNtnirtioiis  to,  15,  58. 

Di.icnvery  of  Nootka,  110. 
Coroiiiulo,  Vas(|iiez  (li\  I5H. 
C'orlereal,  (Jaspar  do,  IS. 
Crozat's  grant  ol  Louisiana,  Lj5. 

Davis,  John,  the  navij^ator,  44. 

DesciihijTla  and  Atrcvida,  voyage  of 
the,  iHi. 

Discovery,  title  hy,  110.  Not  in  the 
Konian  law,  if.j.  Condirion'*  of, 
121.  Progressive,  122.  Kecpiires 
N(»tifii'ation,  2(X)  An  inchoate  act 
of  sovereignty,  23(). 

Dixon  and  Porilock,  01,  70. 

Domain,  eminent,  111.     I'sefi  1,  111. 

Drake,  Sir(l., his  voyage, 27.  French 
account,  ;J0.  Knighte(l  br  Queen 
Elizabeth,  13.9.  Limits  of  voyage, 
40.  His  discovery  maintained  Dy 
l*ritish  ne>>«itiators,  lS(i. 

Dutlot  de  Mofras,  93,  100. 

Duncan  and  Colnctt,  02. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  reply  toMendoza, 

ll:i      Speech  of,  45,  ioi). 
Escarbot's   Histoire  de   la  Nouvelle 

France,  107. 
Escurial,  Convention  of  the,  80,  201, 

244      Mr.    Greenhow's  view,  90. 

British  rights   under,  ascertained, 

202. 
Eyries,  M.,  error  as  to  Drake,  35. 

Gali,  52. 

Factories,  or  comptoirs,  200. 

Falconer's  treatise  on  the  Mississippi, 
155. 

Family  Compact,  80. 

Felice  and  Iphigenia,  77. 

Ferrelo,  Bartholeme,  27. 

Flag,  on  the.  Dr.  Chaning,  228.  Mr. 
Gallatin,  230. 

Fletcher,  World  Encompassed,  28, 
35.     Manuscript  notes,  38. 

Fleurieu,  30,  47. 

Florida  Treaty.     See  Washington. 

Fonte,  Bartholeme,  70,  171. 

Francisco,  Port  San,  the  northern- 
Miost  possession  of  Spain,  42,  200. 

Frazer's  Kiver,  20. 

Frazer's  Lake,  21.     Fort,  201,  202. 

Fuca,  Juan  de.  Straits  of,  19.  Dis- 
covery claimed  by  Martinez,  50. 
Discovered  by  Barclay,  02.  Story 
of,  00.  Not  mentioned  in  Spanish 
archives,  09.     Spanish  claim,  171. 

Fur  Company,  American,  23.  Mis- 
souri, 23.     Pacific,  23. 

Fur  trade,  18. 


Gali,  Franci.Hco,  50,  54. 

Gaiiano   and    Valdt's,    19.     Sec   Suti) 

and  .Mexiruno. 
Gallatin,  Mr  ,  hi<t  doctrine  of<liseove- 

r\,  109.     Letter  to  Mr.  Astor,  194. 

Ills  counter-statement  in  1N20,  208. 
George,  Fort,  143. 
(Jeorgia,  Nivv,  15. 
Gray,    Ca|»taiii,    first    explored    the 

moiitii  of  the  Coliiiiibia  lliver,  0*2. 

Crosses  the  i)ar,  101.     Extent  of  his 

researches,  108. 

llakliiyt.  Collection  of  Voyages,  27. 

Ilaiina,  Captain,  77. 

Hanover,  New,  15 

Hearne,  journey  of,  58. 

lleecta,  voyage  of,  50.     Inlet  of,  57, 

94.     Discovery    of  the    Columbia 

River,  95,  243. 
Hennepin,  Father,  l.)7. 
Henry,  Mr.,  established  a  trading  post 

on  the  Lewis  lliver,  23,  230. 
High  lands,  territorial  limits,  196. 
Horn,  Cape,  discovered,  54. 
Hudson's   Bay  Company,  20.     Title, 

125.     Territory,  213.     Boundaries, 

147. 
Humboldt,  Alexander  von,  46,  233. 

Iberville,  D',  155. 

Illinois,  the,  annexed  to  Louisiana, 
150     Nation  of,  210. 

Ingraham,  Joseph,  pilot  of  the  Colum- 
bia, 81. 

Jefferson,  President,  letter  on  Lou- 
isiana, 140,  100. 

Jefferys'  America,  154,  101,  210. 

Jessup,  General,  179. 

.Jesuit  missions,  54. 

Johnson,  Dr.,  Life  of  Sir  F.  Drake, 
40. 

Jurisdiction,  maritime,  184, 173. 

Kerlet's  memoir  on  liOuisiana,  104. 

Kendrick,Capt.,  0:^,81. 

King,  Capt.  James,  first  suggests  a 
trade  in  furs  with  north-west  coast 
of  America,  18,  00. 

King  George's  Sound  Company,  76, 

Kluber,  Droit  des  Gens,  112,  117. 

Koobkooskee  River,  22. 

Lake   of   tlie   Woods,    145.      Rainy, 

149     Red,  149.   Travers,  149.     Ab- 

bitibbe,  149. 
Law,  international  rules  of,  atTreaty 

of  Washington,  172. 
Levis   and  Clarke's   expedition,   22. 

Encampment    on     south    bank    ofT 

River  Columbia,  235. 
Lewis,  or  Suake  River,  22. 


IMiEX. 


Ill 


Libertivx  di8tihct  rrom  riKlittt  137. 

Lorcn/o,  IJii^  of  Sun,  'w,  59. 

Louisiunu,  limits  of  Cro/ulN  Crutit, 
liw,     JeJFerys'  AnuTica,  l'>\,  210 
Declaration  of  Fruiicv  in  I7()i.  212 
Cession  of,  147.     Western  bounda- 
ries,   l&S        Sold    to     the     United 
States,  157.     Extent  of,  210,  212. 

Mackenzie,  Alexander,  first  crosses 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  l\). 

Maldonado,  pretended  voyage,  65. 
The  author  a  Fleming,  (w. 

Maps,  of  Ortelius  and  lloiidius,  45, 
74  Of  the  16th  and  17th  cen- 
tury, 74.    DifKculty  from  incorrect, 

160.  Questionable    authority    of, 

161.  Melish's,  166.   Inaccuracy  of, 
212. 

Maquilla,  or  Maquinna,  79. 

Marchand's  Voyage,  47. 

Martens,  Droit  des  Gens,  117. 

Martinez  at  Nootka,  HO. 

Matagorda  Bay,  155. 

Mcares,  61.  Sailed  in  the  Nootka,  77. 
In  the  Felice  78,  95.  Memorial  to 
Parliament,  82.     Log  book,  97. 

Mendocino,  Cape,  27.  Furthermost 
known  land,  45. 

Mississippi,  sources  of  the,  146. 
Company,  156.  Discovered  by 
Hernando  de  Soto,  153.  Discover- 
ed bv  Spain,  153,  197.  Explored 
by  British  subjects,  154.  Free 
navigation  of,  ]9o. 

Missouri  Fur  Company,  first  estab- 
lishment of  citizens  of  United 
States  on  the  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  23. 

Monroe,  President,  declaration  of, 
178. 

Monson's,  Sir  W.,  Naval  Tracts,  44. 

Mountains,  Snowy,  165. 

Multnomah  River,  166.  Incorrectly 
laid  down,  IW).  Proposed  as  a 
boundary  by  Spain,  in  1819,  165, 
170.     Sources,  190. 

Natchitoches,  164. 

National  flag,  226.  Protection  of,  193. 

Mercantile,  227.      Sovereign,  228 

Mr.    Gallatin's    letter,    2;;0.      Dr. 

Channing's  pamphlet,  228. 
National  sTiip,  Mr.  Uu.sh's  view,  18^1 

Mr.  Buchanan')"  view,  226. 
Negotiations  in  1818,  144. 
New  France,  extent  westwardly,  161, 

210. 
New  Mexico,  extent  of,  171. 
Nootka  Sound,  73.     Discovery  of,  1 16, 

British  colours  hoisted  at,  *9.     De- 


livered up  t(»  the  Uritish,  92.  Con- 
troversy, 119.  British  settlement, 
203. 

Nootka  Sound  Convention.  See  E»- 
ciirial.     Mr.  Pitt's  view,  247. 

North-west  Company  established,  20. 
Their  first  settlement  west  of  thu 
Kocky  Mountains,  20. 

Uecupation,  title  by.  111.  Distinct 
from  occupancy,  114. 

Ohio  River,  159. 

Okanegaii  River,  24. 

Onis,  Dun  Louis  de,  16-1. 

Oregon,  or  Oregaii  River,  so  called 
by  Carver,  16. 

Oregon  Territory,  extent  of,  17.  Pre- 
tensions of  the  United  States  in  1818, 
142.     First  notice  of  claim,  147. 

Pacific  Fur  Company,  23.     Di-ssolu- 

tioii  of,  25,    192.     Not  chartered, 

192 
Panuco,  the  northernmost  settlement 

of  Spain  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 

154,  176. 
Partition,  rule  of,  261. 
Patagonians,  39. 
Perez,  Juan,  voyage,  55,  116.     En- 

trada  de,  55. 
Perouse,  La,  60. 
Pichilingue  Bay,  73. 
Poletica,  Chevalier  de,  179. 
Pope  Alexander  VI  ,  his  bull,  27, 
Pre-emption,  right  of,  177. 
Prescription,  title  of,  124. 
President  Polk's  Message,  2.55. 
Pretty,  Francis,  28.     >ot  the  author 

of  the  Famous  Voyage,  32. 
Purchas,  Pilgrims  ol,  34. 

Racoon,  sloop  of  war,  25,  239, 

Rio  Bravo  del  Norte,  171. 

Rivers,  appendages  to  territory,  173, 

195.     Common  use  of,  126, 176, 195. 

Mr.  Wheatou  on,  195. 
Rocky  Mountains,  14. 
Rolls  Court,  131. 
Rush,  Mr  ,  180,  241,  251,  253. 
Russia,  establishments  on  north-west 

coast  of  America,  60,  262.     Claims 

on  north-west  coast,  120. 
Russian  American  Company,  in  1799, 

200. 

Salle,  De  la,  154, 197. 
Santa  Fe,  170. 

Sea  coast,  discovery  of,  172.     Posses- 
sion of,  196. 
Servitudes,  permanent,  134. 
Settlement,  title  by,  122.  Jurisdictiou 


H. 


..  r 


iv 


INDEX. 


let 


of,  172.  ConterminoHs,  175.  Not  mere 

tratlinp^  stations,  2()2.    Not  (aotorios, 

2(Hj.    Tiiteiinixeil,  21-3.    Priority  of, 

221. 
Sitrra  Verde,  13,  WG. 
Silva,  iXiirio  (la,  Jiis  narrative,  28. 
Sclioell's  'J'laites,  !)(),  ft2,  147. 
fcioto,  Heniaiulo  de,   discovered    the 

Mississipj)i,  171. 
Soutii  ('iU(>iiiia,  laws  of,  227. 
Spain,  fla.ms  to  the  north-west  coast 

of  Ami  rica,  1(H. 
f^fow,  llie  Annalist,  43. 
Stowell,    Lord,    on    rivers,  106.     On 

discoveries,  121,  200. 
Sutil  y  Mcxicuna,  voyage  of,  48. 

Tacoutche  -  Te.sse  River,  held  by 
I..ewis  and  Clarke  to  be  the  Colum- 
bia. IM,  232. 

Teliiricoif's  voyage,  54. 

Tf-rritory  in  use, 221. 

■^I'L-xa^.  lioniidarics  of,  171. 

Thalwe-,  17ti 

'I'hof.isiin,  Mr.  David,  the  astronomer 
tif  tlie  Norlh-west  Compar.y,  de- 
scends the  north  branch  of  the  Co- 
lumbia River,  21,  24,  171,  2;«. 
Determines  the  latitude  of  the 
sources  of  the  Alississippi,  146. 

Tiji[iina;,  Captain,  b'l,  70. 

litle  by  Occupation,  111.  Discovery, 
115.  Sea  coast,  172  Settlement, 
124.  Prescrii)tion,  124.  Convention, 
12f). 

Tonquin,  ship,  destroyed  by  the  In- 
dians, 24. 

treaty  of  Utrecht,  84, 144, 148.  Paris, 
of  1803,  147.  Paris,  of  1763,  149. 
Ryswick,  157.  Washington,  173.  S. 


Ildefonso,  157,  162.  The  Escurial, 
8(>.  201.  Ghent,  141.  Family  Com- 
pact, 86,  92.  Paris,  of  1783,  12ii, 
1 !(),  ir>l.  Of  1794,  146. 
Treaties  terminable  by  war,  135. 
Sometimes  contain  acknowledg- 
ments of  title,  136. 

Ukase  of  Russia  respecting  the  north- 
west coast,  178, 

Ulloa,  Francisco  de,  26,  .54,  72. 

United  States,  the  J'resident's  plan  as 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  169. 

Use,  innocent,  128. 

U-.ucaption,  title  by,  124. 

Utrecht,  Treaty  "of,  211.  Commis- 
sioners under,  148. 

Vancouver,  Capt.,  18.  Instructions, 
98  Names  C.  Orford,  9:*.  Ob- 
serves lleceta's  River,  100.  Vin- 
dicated against  Mr.  Clreenhow's 
charges,  103,  107. 

Vattel  on  Occupation,  173.  On  Dis- 
cover}-. 193.     On  Prcscriptif)P,  125. 

Vicinitas  of  the  Roman  law,  126. 

Viscaino,  Sebastian,  54. 

Wabash  River,  or  Ouabache,  156. 

Washington,  Treaty  of,  cession  under, 
172, 180.  Object  of  Spanish  conces- 
sions, 170,  237. 

Wheaton  on  Discovery,  IIS. 

Wilkes',  Capt.,  expedition,  74. 

Willamette,  settlement  on  the,  236, 
259. 

Webster,  Daniel,  264. 

WoUHi  Jus  Gentium,  112.  Institu' 
tionsdu  Droit,  113,  121. 

Woods,  Lake  of  the,  145, 


I   ;  I 


t\,. 


\ 


he  Escuria!, 
^amily  Com- 
if  1783,  133, 

war,    135. 
icknowledg- 


ip;  the  north- 

4,72. 

cnt's  plan  as 

ii). 


Commit 


list  ructions, 

I,   9<.     ()!)- 

JOO.     Vin- 

jreenhow's 

5.  On  Dis- 
•iptiop,  125. 
n-,  126. 


he,  ViG. 
?sinn  under, 
(ish  conces- 

S. 

L74. 

1  the,  256, 


2.    Institu' 


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Falkner  on  Manures. 
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ARTS,  MANUFACTTJSES,  &o. 
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FrMcnius'^  Chomical  Analyiii. 
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GuJEot's  History  of  Civilization. 
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Taylor's  Natural  History  of  Society. 

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Boy's  Manuitl. 

Cameron's  Farmer's  Daughter. 

Child'*  Delight. 

Copley's  Eiifly  Friendships 

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Cortes,  Adrentures  of. 

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«'        Which  is  the  Wiser  .> 

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"        Strive  and  Thrive. 

"        Sowing  and  Reaping. 

"        No  irenso  like  Common  Souse. 

"        Alice  Franklin. 
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Lookiiig-GIasei  for  tho  Mind. 
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Log  Cahin,  or  World  before  You. 
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"  Peusunt  and  Prince* 

Mnrryat'a  MaBtcrmun  Ready. 
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Sandham's  Twin  Sistnrs. 
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'^nylor's  Young  Islandeis. 

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Youth's  Book  of  Nature. 

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Arthur's  Tired  of  Housekeeping. 
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St.  Pierre's  Paul  and  Virginia. 
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POETRY. 

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Gems  from  American  Poets. 
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Lewis's  Rncords  of  the  Heart. 
Milton's  Poetical  Works. 
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A  Kempis'g  Imitation  of  Christ. 
Anthon's  Catechism  on  Flomiliei. 
Beaven's  Help  to  Catechising. 
Bible  Expositor. 
Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
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Bradley's  Practical  Sermons. 

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"       Christian  Professor. 

"       Anxious  Inquirer  after  Salvation. 

"       Happiness,  its  Nature  and  Snurcea 
Kip's  Double  Witness. 
Kingsley's  Sacred  Choir. 
Lyra  Apostolica. 
Magce  on  Atonement. 
Manning  on  Unity  of  the  Clmrch. 
Marshall's  Notes  on  Episcopacy. 
More's  Private  Devotion. 

"     Practical  Piety. 
Maurice's  Kingdom  of  Christ, 
Newman's  Parochial  Seimons. 

"         Sermons  on  S)'  /jectaof  the  D^ 
Ogilby  on  Lay-Baptism, 

"     Lectures  on  tho  Church. 
Palmer  on  the  Ciiurch. 
Paget's  Tales  of  tlie  Village. 
Pearson  on  the  Creed. 
Philip's  Devotional  Guides. 

"       The  Hannahs. 

"      Tho  Marys. 

'«       The  Marthas. 

"       Th.)  Lydias. 

•'      Love  of  the  Spirit. 
Sherlock's  Practical  Christian. 
Smith  on  Scripture  and  Geology, 
Spencer's  Cliristian  Instructed. 
Spincke's  Manual  of  Devotion. 
Sprague's  Lectures  to  Young  People 

"         True  and  False  Relig'on. 
Sutton's  Learn  to  Live. 
'       Learn  to  Die. 

"       On  Sacrament. 
Stuart's  Letters  to  Godchild 
Taylor  on  Episcopacy. 
"      Golden  Grove. 
"       f^piritual  Christianity 
Wayland's  Human  Responsibility 
Wil.ion's  Sacra  Privata. 
Wilborforce's  Communicant's  Manual. 

VOYAGES  AND  TRAVELS, 

Cooley's  American  in  Egypt. 
Olmsted's  Whaling  Voyage. 
Sillimtin's  Ameiican  Scenery 
Southgato's  Turkey  and  Persia. 


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iriia. 


Appleton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 

A  KEMPIS— OF  THE  IMITATION  OF  CHRIST: 

Four  books  by  Thomas  <\  Kempis.     One  elegant  volume,  IGmo.     $1  00. 

"  Thf!  author  of  this  invaluable  work  was  born  about  the  yt-ar  1380,  and  hna  always  bean 
honoured  by  the  Church  for  ills  eminent  sanctity.  Of  the  many  pious  woriis  composed  by  him, 
nia  '  Imitation  of  Christ'  (being  collections  of  his  devotional  thoughts  and  meditations  on  impor* 
tant  practical  suhjefts,  toijether  'vith  a  separate  treatise  on  the  Holy  Communion)  is  the  most 
celebrated,  and  has  ever  been  admired  ana  vaiued  oy  devout  Christians  of  eveiy  namo.  It  has 
passed  through  numerous  editions  and  translations,  the  first  of  which  into  I'^nglish  is  said  to  have 
been  made  by  the  illustrious  Lady  Margaret,  mother  of  King  Henry  VII.  Messrs.  Applo'.on's 
rery  beautiful  edition  is  a  reprint  from  the  last  English,  the  translation  of  which  was  c:  efly 
copied  from  one  printed  at  London  in  1677  It  deserves  to  bo  a  companion  of  the  goo^  Msho|r 
Wilson's  Sacra  Privata. — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

AMERICAN  POETS.— GEMS    FROM   AMERICAN  POETS. 

One  volume,  32mo.,  frontispiece,  gilt  leaves,  37  1-2  cents. 
Forming   one  of  the    series   of   "  Miniature    Classical   Library." 
Contains   selections  from  nearly    one    hundred  writers,  among  which  are — 
Bryant,    Ilalleck,   Longfellow,    Percival,    Whittier,    Sprague,    Brainerd, 
Dana,  Willis,  Pinkney,  Allston,  Ilillhouse,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  L.  M.  David* 
son,  Lucy  Hooper,  Mrs.  Embury,  Mrs.  Hale,  etc.  etc 

ANTHON.-CATECHISMS   ON  THE   HOIS/HLIES  OF  THE 

CHURCH, 

18mo.  paper  cover,  6  1-4  cents,  $4  per  hundred 

CONTENTS. 


L     Of  the  Misery  of  Mankind. 
IT.     Of  the  Nativity  of  Christ. 

By  HENRY  ANTHON,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  New  York, 


in. 

IV. 


Of  the  Passion  of  Christ. 

Of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ. 


This  little  volume  forms  No.  2,  of  a  series  of  "  Tracts  on  Christian  Doctrine  and  Piactieo," 
•ow  in  course  of  publication  under  the  supervision  of  Rev.  Dr.  Anthon. 

AUSTIN.— FRAGMENTS   FROM    GERMAN    PROSE 

WRITERS. 

Translated  by   Scirah   Austin,  with  Biographical    Sketches  of  the  Auih 
One  handsomely  printed  volume,  12mo. 


'/'■. 


1  Vir 


ARTHUR.-TIRED  OF  HOUSE-KtLEP?\ 

By  T.  S.  Arthur,  author  of  "  Insubordination  "  etc.  etc.     Ono  volume,  ISmo. 
frontispiece,  37  1-2  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of"  Tales  for  ;i;v  1  eople  and  Uieir  Children." 
Contents. — I.    Going   to  House-keeping. — JI.    First   Experiments. — III. 
Morning  Calls. — IV.  First  Demonstrations. — V.  Trouble  witli  Sorvants. — VI. 

A  New  One VII.    More  Tiouble.— VIII.    A  True  Friend.— IX.    Another 

Powerful  Demonstration. — X.  Breaking  iqi. — XI.  Experiments  in  Boarding 
and  Taking  Boarder. — XII.  More  Sacrifices.-— XIII.  Extracting  Good  from 
Evil.— XIV.  Failure  of  the  First  Experiments.— XV.  The  New  Boarding- 
House. — XVI.  Trouble  in  Earnest.— XVII.  Sickness.-^XVIU.  Another 
Change. — XIX.    Conclusion. 

BEAVEN.-A   HELP  TO  CATECHISING. 

for  the  use  of  Clergymen,  Schools,  and  Private  Families.      Uy  James  Bea 
ven,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Theology  at  King's  College,  Tore  nto.     Revised 
and  adapted  to  the  use  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States.     By  Henry  Anthon,  D.  D.,  Rector  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  N.  Y. 
18mo.,  paper  cover,  6  1-4  cents,  $4  per  hundred. 

Penning  No.  1  of  a  series  of"  Tracts  on  Christian  Doctoine  and  Praetice."  now  in  conn*  «^ 
MMication  under  the  luperintendence  of  Rer.  Dr<  Antb 


f 


M 


Aj/pkton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 

BIBLE    EXPOSITOR. 

Confirination  of  the  Triilli  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  frcnn    tlie    Observations  of 
recent  Travellers,  illiistr;itiii<^  the  Man)iers,  Customs,  and  Places  referred  to 
in  the  Bihie.     Puhlished  uniler  tlie  direetion  of  the  Society  for  the  Promo 
tion    of  Cluistian   Knowledge,  London.     Illustrated  with  90  cuts.     On<i 
volume,  l^mo.,  75  cents. 

EXTRACT    rilOM    PIlErACE. 

♦'The  Holy  Scrijiturcg  cont.'iin  many  jiassugcs  full  oriinportaiice  iind  bnauty,  but  not  ganoiMj 
Miuler8too(l,b(;caiiso  thfy  ooiitrtiii  alluriions  to  mariiiors  anil  customH,  familiar  indeed  totliuso  towlioni 
they  wffo  originally  addroHsed,  but  inii)orfuctly  known  to  us.  In  order  to  obviate  tliis  ditliculty 
thia  voiuiiio  is  now  presontod  to  tlie  puldic,  coiiai-ilin;;  of  extracts  from  the  narratives  of  trave. 
lera  who  have  recorded  the  customs  of  the  oriental  nations,  from  wboni  wo  learn  t  bat  some  uiiagoi 
wore  retained  anionj.'  them  to  this  <lay,  such  as  existed  at  the  times  when  the  ycripturcs  wero 
written,  and  that  their  manners  are  in  many  instances  little  cbatiired  since  tbt!  patriarchal  times. 
Tho  compiler  of  this  volume  trusts  that  it  may  bo  tlie  nusiiis,  imdof  God's  providem'c,  of  lea<ling 
unlearned  readers  to  a  more  general  acquaintance  with  Eastern  cu-itoms,  and  assist  tlicm  to  a 
clearer  porcepiion  of  the  iiroprioty  and  beauty  of  the  illustrations  so  often  drawn  from  them  in  the 
Bible." 

BOOK  OF   COMMON   PRAYER; 

And  Administration  of  the  Sacraments  and  other  Rites  and  Ceremonies  ot 
the  Church,  according  to  the  use  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  together  with  the  Psalter  or  Psalms  of  David. 
Illustrated  with  six  steel  engravings,  rubricated,  18mo.  size,  in  varioui 
bindings. 

Morocco,  extra  gilt  leaves,  $2  25.  With  clasp,  do.,  $3  00.  Imitation  of  Morocco,  ffilt 
leaves,  $1  50.  Plain  do.,  $1  00.  Without  rubrics,  in  Morocco,  extra,  $2  00.  Imitation  do., 
(1  95.  Hhcep,  plain,  37  1-2  cents.  It  may  also  be  had  in  rich  silk  velvet  binding,  mounted  with 
gold,  gilt  borders,  clasp,  &c.,  price  $8  00. 

A  very  superior  edition,  printed  in  largo  type,  from  the  new  authorized  edition,  is  nearly 
roady.    It  will  be  embellished  with  choice  steel  engravings  from  designs  by  Ovcrbcck. 

BOONE— ADVENTURES  OF  DANIEL  BOONE, 

The  Kentucky  Rifleman.     By  the  author  of  "  Uncle  Philip's  Conversations. 

One  volume,  18mo.  37  1-2  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of   «' A  Library  for  my  Young  Countrymen. " 

•'  It  is  an  excellent  narrative,  written  in  a  plain,  familiar  style,  and  sets  forth  the  character  and 
wild  adventures  of  the  hcri)  of  the  Kentucky  wildorneas  in  a  very  attractive  light.  The  boys  will 
all  bo  in  an  agony  to  read  it." — Com,  Mv. 

BOYS'   MANUAL. 

Comprising  a  Summary  View  of  the  Studies,  Accomplishments,  and  Princi- 
ples of  Conduct,  best  suited  for  promoting  Respectability  and  Success  in 
Life.     1  vol.  18mo.     50  cents. 


BRADLEY.-FAMILY    AND    PARISH    SERMONS. 

Preached  at  Clapham  and  Glasbury.     By  the  Rev.   Charles  Bradley.     From 
the  seventh  London  edition,  two  volumes  in  one,8vo.     $1  25. 

PRACTICAL  SERMONS 

For  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year  and  principal  holydays.     Two  volumda 

of  English  edition  in  one  8vo      ^l  50. 

{fCf  '-I'l''-  'ibove  two  volumes  may  he  bound  together  in  one.     Price  $2  50. 

'J'he  Sermons  of  this  Divine  are  much  admired  for  tlie'r  plain,  vet  chaste  and  elegant  style* 
thoy  will  bo  foimd  admirably  adapted  for  family  readinjaiid  preachinL',  where  no  pastor  is  located- 
Raconnnondations  iniirht  lie  given,  if  space  would  admit,  from  several  of  our  liishopsand  Clergy- 
alsofrom  Ministers  of  various  di^nominationH. 

Tho  following  are  a  few  of  the  English  and  American  crificiil  opinions  of  their  n.i  -"•  :— 

"  Hradley's  itylo  is  sententious,  pithy,  and  colloquial.     Ho  is  simple  without  being  quaint 
sad  ho  almost  holds  conversation  with  his  hoarers,  without  descending  from  the  dignity  of  tho 
naercd  chair."-  -fk/cctjc  iJffoicjfl. 

"  We  earnestly  desire  that  every  pulpit  may  over  he  tho  vehicle  of  discourses  as  judicious  an* 
practical,  as  scriptural  and  devout,  as  these." — Christian  Obncrrer. 

"  The  stylo  is  so  simple  that  the  most  unlearned  can  understand  them  ;  the  matter  so  instrne 
live  that  tho  best  informed  can  learn  sonxitbing ;  the  spirit  so  fervent  that  the  most  engafe^ 
Cbrittian  can  bo  animated  and  warmed  liy  ti>oir  perusal  "-—Christian  Witntut, 


ons. 


Observationt  ol 
laces  referred  to 
(T  for  the  Promo 
1  00  cuts.     On<i 


ty,  but  not  gonorally 
ced  to  tliuso  tu  wliois 
viato  this  (iifliculty 
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tlio  iS<Tipturc9  woro 
10  patriarchal  tinir*. 
ovidom-o,  of  leading 
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Conversations. 

OMntrymen." 

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MS. 

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Two  volumida 


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10  pastor  is  lucuted- 
.iihop8and  C'lergy- 

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09  09  Judicious  ant 

matter  so  instroe 
the  mosi  engafed 


jtpptcton  -  .         togue  of  Valuable  Publications 


than 
rnterf 


BURNET.-THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION 

Of  tlie  Ciiurcli  of  Englanil,  by  Gilbert  Burnet,  D.  D.,  late  Lord  Bishop  ol 
Salisbury — with  the  Collection  of  Records  and  a  copious  Index,  revise, 
and  corrected,  with  additional  Notes  and  a  Preface,  by  the  Rev.  E 
Nares,  D.  D.,late  Professor  of  JModern  History  in  the  University  ofOxfonl 
Illustrated  with  a  Frontispiece  and  twenty-three  engraved  Portraits,  form 
ing  four  elegant  8vo.  volumes.     $8  00. 

A  cheap  edition  is  printed,  containing  the  History  in  three  vols,  without  tiie 
Records — which  form  the  fourth  vol.  of  tlie  above.     Price,  in  boards,  $2  50. 

To  thf)  Btudiint  either  of  civil  or  reli^'ious  history,  no  epoch  can  bo  of  more  importance 
Ihat  of  the  Reformation  in  Kngi.md.  'I'he  History  of  Bisliop  Hurnut  is  one  of  tlie  most  ciMidi 
and  bvfar  the  most  frfqiK^iitly  quoted  of  any  that  has  boon  written  of  this  groat  cvi'iit.  I'pon  th* 
•riginal  publication  of  tlio  tirst  vohiiiie.  it  was  rucnivod  in  Great  Britain  with  llio  loudest  and 
most  extravagant  encomiums.  The  author  received  the  thanks  of  both  Houses  of  I'arliamcnt, 
and  was  requested  by  them  to  continue  the  work.  In  continuitig  it,  he  had  the  assistance  of  the 
most  learned  and  eminent  divines  of  his  time;  and  lie  confesses  his  indebtedness  fur  im])ortaiik 
aid  to  Lloyd,  Tillotson,  and  Stillinglleet,  thri.'c  of  the  greatest  of  England's  Bishops. 

The  present  edition  of  this  great  work  has  been  edited  with  laborious  care  by  Dr.  Nareg,  who 
professes  to  have  corrected  iinjiortant  errors  into  which  the  author  fell,  and  to  liave  made  such 
improvements  in  the  order  of  the  work  as  will  render  it  far  nioro  useful  to  tlio  reader  or  historical 
atadent.  Pieliiiiinary  explanations,  full  and  sudicient  to  the  clear  understanding  of  the  author, 
are  given,  and  marginal  references  are  made  throughout  the  bo(5k,  so  as  greatly  to  facilitate  and 
tender  accurate  its  consultation.  It  will  of  course  find  a  place  in  every  theologian's  libraiy — and 
will,  by  no  means,  we  trust,  be  confined  to  that  comparatively  limited  sphere — JV.  Y.  Tribune, 

BURNET.-AN  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  XXXIX  ARTICLES 

Of  the  Church  of  England.  By  Gilbert  Burnet,  D.  D,  late  Bishop  of  Salisbury. 
^Vith  an  Appendix,  containing  the  Augsburg  Confession,  Creed  of  Pope 
Pius  IV.,  &c.  Revised  and  corrected,  with  copious  Notes  and  Additional 
References,  by  the  Rev.  James  R.  Page,  A.  M.  One  handsome  8vo.  vol- 
ume.    $2  00. 

The  editor  has  given  to  our  clergy  and  our  students  in  theology  nn  edition  of  this  work,  which 
must  necessarily  supersede  every  other,  and  we  feel  ho  deserves  well  at  the  hands  of  the  Church, 
which  he  has  so  iiiaterially  served. — Churck  of  England  Quarterly  Rcvinr'. 

BURNS.-THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS 

Of  Robert  Burns,  with  Explanatory  and  GJossarial  Notes,  and  a  Life  of  the 
Author,  by  James  Currie,  M.  D.,  illustrated  with  six  ateei  engravings,  one 
volume,  IGmo.     !$l   25. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of  "Cabinet  Edition  of  Standard  British  Poets." 

This  is  the  most  complete  American  "dition  of  Burns.  It  contains  the  whole  of  the  poetry  com- 
prised ill  tl;e  edition  lately  edited  by  Cunningham,  as  well  as  some  additional  pieces  ;  and  such 
notes  )<  t'  0  been  added  as  arc  calculated  to  illu'-trato  the  manners  and  customs  of  Scotland,  so  aa 
to  render  the  whole  more  intelligible  to  the  English  reader. 

He  owes  nothing  to  the  poetry  of  other  lands — he  is  the  offspring  of  the  soil :  he  is  ns  natural 
t<  Scotland  as  tlie  heath  is  to  her  hills— his  variety  is  equal  to  his  originality;  his  humour,  hia 
pavety,  his  tenderness  and  his  pathos,  come  all  in  a  breath;  they  come  freely,  for  they  come  of 
their  own  accord  ;  the  contrast  is  never  offensive  ;  the  comic  slides  easily  into  the  aeriuus,  tha 
serious  into  the  tender,  and  the  tender  into  the  pathetic— .^Z/un  Cunningham. 

CAMERON— THE   FARMER'S   DAUGHTER: 

A  Tale  of  Humble  Life,  by  Mrs.  Cameron,  author  of  "  Emma  and  Her  Nurse," 

"  the  Two  Mothers,"  etc.,  etc.,  one  volume,  l8mo.,  frontispiece.    37  1-2  ct«. 

Wo  welcome,  in  this  little  volume,  a  valuable  addition  to  the  excellent  series  of  "  Talas  for 
the  People  and  their  Children."     The  story  co;iveys  high  moral  truths,  in  a  most  attractive  form 

— Hunt's  JSIcrihanVi  Mag. 

CARLYLE.-ON    HEROES,  HERO   WORSHIP, 

And  the  Heroic  in  History.  Six  Lectures,  reported  with  Emendations  and  Ad- 
ditioiis,  by  Thomas  Carlyle,  niithorof  the  "  French  Revolution,"  "Sartor 
Resartus,"  &-C.    Elegantly  jiiiited  in  one  vol.  i2mo.    Second  edition.     $1. 

CHILl>'S    DELIGHT; 

\.  Gift  for  the  Young.  Edited  by  a  lady.  One  volume  small  4to.  EmbtU 
lished  with  six  steel  Engravings  coloured  in  the  niost  attractive  style. 

This  is  the  gem  of  the  season.  In  style  of  embellishment  and  originality  of  matter,  it  ttonde 
■liix*.    'W*  cordially  recoin;iien'',  tlto  volunio  to  our  juvenile  friends.— C.  S,  HentUe, 

6 


Appleton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications 


11 


':     i 


m 


CHURTON.— THE  EARLY  ENGLISH  CHURCH; 

Or,  Christian  Ilialory  of  England  in  early  British,  Saxon,  and  Norman  TinieM, 
By  the  Rev.  Edward  Cliurton,  M.  A  With  a  Preface  by  the  Right  Rev 
Bishop  Ives.     Onevol.lGino.     $1  00. 

Th«  following  dcliglitful  pagns  placo  before  us  some  of  the  choicest  cxamp'os — both  clerical 
and  lay— of  the  true  Cliristian  spirit  in  the  KAKLY  ENCiLISlI  CilL'RCII.  In  truth,  those  pogM 
m«  crowded  with  weighty  lessons.    *    *    *    Extract  f rum  Editor's  Preface. 

CLARKE.— SCRIPTURE    PROMISES 

Mnder  tiieir  proper  heads,  representing  the  Blessings  Promised,  the  Duties  to 
which  Promises  are  made.  By  Samuel  Clarke,  D.  D.  Miniature  size, 
37  1-2  cents. 

In  thie  edition  every  passage  of  Scripture  has  been  compared  and  vorifiod.  The  volume  ii 
like  an  arranged  museum  of  gems,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls  of  inestimable  value.  Th« 
divine  promises  comprehend  a  rich  and  endless  vuiiety. — Dr  tVardlau). 

COOLEY.-THE    AMERICAN    IN    EGYPT. 

vVith  Rambles  through  Arabia-Petrtea  and  the  Holy  Land,  during  tlie  years 

1839-40.     By  James  Ewing  Cooley.     Illustried  with  numerous  steel  En 

gravings,  also  Etchings  and  Designs  by  Jol'  inton.     One  handsome  volume, 

octavo,  of  610  pages.     $2  00. 

No  other  volume  extant  gives  the  reader  so  true  a  picture  of  what  ho  would  be  likely  to  see 
Kad  meet  in  Egypt,  No  other  buok  is  more  iiractital  and  plain  in  its  picture  of  precisely  what 
the  traveller  himself  will  meet.  Other  writers  have  one  account  to  give  of  their  journey  on  paper, 
Eki  another  to  relate  in  conversation.  Mr.  Cuuley  ims  but  one  story  for  the  fireside  circle  and 
the  printed  page. — Brotker  Jonatlian. 

CHAVASSE.-ADVICE    TO    MOTHERS 

On  the  Maniigement  of  their  <>ifspring,  during  the  periods  of  Infancy,  Child- 
iiood,  and  Youth,  by  Dr.  Pye  Henry  Chavasse,  Member  of  the  Royal  Col* 
lege  c''  Surgeons,  London,  from  the  third  English  edition,  one  volume, 
18mo.  of  180  pages.     Paper  25  cents,  clotli  37  1-2. 

All  that  I  liavo  attempted  is,  to  have  written  useful  advice,  in  a  clear  style,  stripped  of  all 
technicalities,  which  mothers  of  every  station  may  understand.     *     *    *     I  have  adopted  a  con- 
versational form,  uB  being  more  familiar,  and  as  au  easier  method  of  maJiing  myself  understuod.— 
ELtractfrom  Author's  Preface. 

COPLEY.— EARLY    FRIENDSHIPS, 

By  Mrs.  Copley.     With  a  frontispiece.     One  volume,  18mo.     37-12  cents. 

A  continual' yn  of  the  little  library  of  (.  nular  works  for  "  the  People  and  their  Children."  Its 
design  is,  by  ^jivingtho  boarding-scliool  In.  <ry  of  a  young  girl,  whoso  early  education  had  been 
conducted  oh  Christian  principles,  to  show  tiio  pri^-cminent  value  of  those  principles  in  moulding 
and  adorr'-ii?  the  character,  and  enabling  their  possessor  successfully  to  meet  the  temptations 
and  tri^'.i*  of  life.    It  is  attractively  written,  and  full  of  interest. — Com.  Adv. 

COPLEY.— THE    POPLAR   GROVE: 

Or,  little  Harry  and  Iiis  Unci  ■  Benjamin.     By  Mrs.  Copley,  author  of"  Early 

Friendships,"  &c.,  &  •.     One  vol.  18mo.  frontispiece,  37  1-2  cents. 

An  excellent  little  story  tliis,  showing  ho>i'  HPund  sense,  honest  principles,  and  inlolligeiii 
industry,  not  only  advanf-v  ll.cir  possessor,  but,  cs  in  the  case  of  Uncle  Benjamin  the  gardener, 
enable  him  to  become  the  bcnefuTlor,  piido,  and  friend  of  relations  cast  down  from  a  loftier  sphere 
in  life,  and,  but  for  him,  withoui  lesource.  It  is  a  tale  for  youth  of  all  classes,  that  cannot  be 
reod  without  profit. — JV*.  Y.  Aintrwan. 

CORTES.— THE    ADVENTURES    OF 

llernan  Cortes,  the  Conqueror  of  Mexico,  by  the  author  of  *'  Uncle  Philip'i 

Conversations,"  with  u  Portrait.     One  volume,  18mo.  37  1-2  cents. 

^^orming  one  jfthe  series  of  "  A  Library  for  my  Young  Count/ymen.* 

Tno  story  is  full  of  interest,  and  is  told  in  a  captivating  stylo.  Such  books  add  all  the  charnns 
ef  romance  to  the  value  of  history. — Prov.  Journal. 

COTTON.— ELIZABETH  i  OR,  THE  EXILES  OF  SIBERIA. 

By  Madame  Cotton.     Miniature  size,  31  1-4  cents. 
Forming  one  ot'the  series  of  "Miniature  Classical  Library." 
The  extensive  popularity  of  this  Uttlo  tale  is  well  known. 


tions 


H; 

I  Norman  Tiniea 
Y  the  Right  Rev 

imp'es— both  clerical 
In  trutli,  thoae  pagM 


ed,  the  Duties  to 
Miniature  size, 

Hod.    The  volume  ii 
itimable  value.    Tlt« 


Juring  the  years 
nerous  steel  En 
indsome  volume, 

)uld  he  liknly  to  see 
iro  of  precisely  what 
eir  journey  on  paper, 
lie  hrcsido  circle  and 


Infancy,  Child- 
f  the  Royal  CoL 
an,  one  volume. 


style,  stripped  of  all 
have  udopted  a  con- 
nysolf  nnderstood.- 


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leir  Children."  Iti 
education  had  been 
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eet  the  temptation* 


ithor  of «' Early 
cents. 

eg,  and  intelligent 
amin  the  gardener, 
rum  a  loftier  spher* 
ises,  that  cannot  ha 


Uncle  Philip'i 
2  cents, 
.•ymen.' 
add  all  the  charmt 

SIBERIA. 


**''. 


Appietoii's  CataloiTue  of  Valuable  Publications. 

COWPER.-THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS 

Of  William  Cowper,  Es(|.,  including  the  Hymns  and  Transhition.s  from  Mad 
Guion,  Milton,  &lv..,  and  Adam,  a  .Sacri'd  Drama,  from  the  Italian  of  Bat* 
tista  Andreini,  with  a  Memoir  of  the  Author,  hy  the  Rev.  Henry  Stebbing, 
A.  M.     One  volume,  IGmo.,  HOO  pages,  $1  50,  or  in  2  vols.  $1  75. 

Forming  one  of  the  Series  of  "Cabinet  Edition  of  Standard  British  Poets." 

Morality  never  found  in  gnnius  a  nioro  devoted  ndvocato  than  Cowper,  nor  has  nioriil  wiiiilnra. 

(r  its  plain  undspviTo  prijoeptn,  l<een  ever  more  8uccesnfully  coniUined  with  the  dcliciile  Hpirit  o^ 

\  to  ry  than  in  hin  works.     He  was  cnduwed  with  all  the  powers  which  a  poet  could  wiirit  who 

a    to  he  the  moraliut  of  the  world— the  reprover,  hut  not  the  satirist,  of  iiieii — the  tuaclier  ul 

■  pi*  truths,  which  were  to  i)0  rendered  <,'racious  without  endangering  their  ainiplicity. 

'/RUDEN.-CONCORDANCE  OF  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

/'y  A.lexander  Cruden,  M.  A.,  with  a  IMemoir  of  the  Author  by  W.  Voungman 
Abridged  from  the  last  London  Edition,  by  \Vm.  I'alton,  D.  D.     Portrait. 
One  volume,  IWmo.,  sheep,  50  cents. 
**•  Contains  all  the  words  to  bo  found  in  the  large  work  relating  to  the  New  Testament. 

DE  FOE— PICTORIAL  ROBINSON  CRUSOE. 

The  Life  and  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  By  Daniel  De  Foe.  With  a 
Memoir  of  the  AuLhor,  and  an  Essay  on  his  Writings,  with  upwards  of  300 
spirited  Engravings,  by  tlie  ceieljrated  rrench  artist,  Graudville  One 
elegant  volume,  octavo,  of  500  pages.     $1  75. 

Crusoe  has  obtained  a  ready  passport  to  the  mansions  of  the  rich,  and  the  ri)llnj,'C3  of  the  jtoor^ 
and  comrnunicutcd  ccjuul  duligiit  to  all  riinkn  iind  clissfs  of  the  coniniiinily.  I'ew  works  have 
been  more  generally  read,  or  more  justly  iidniiicd  ;  fusv  tlint  huve  yiiMi'd  such  incessant  ainusn- 
ment,  and,  at  the  same  time,  have  Jeveiupoil  so  many  lussons  of  |)ractical  instruction. — fsir  H'aller 
Scott. 

_  The  Messrs.  Apjilcton  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  li:ivc  jn-^t  jiiililishcd  a  iKMntifiil  edition  of  "Th« 
Life  and  Adventures  of  Robinson  Cruso(!."  Not  iIk'  nii-icralilc  al)ri(l;,'n]cnt  ^'encrally  circulated, 
but  De  Foe's  genuine  work,  Robinson  Cru.'ioi?  in  lull  ami  at  lcin.'tli,a  utory  vliich  nrvor  palls  upon 
the  reader,  and  never  can  lose  itu  popularity  wUWn  the  English  lan^ua^'c  endures. — t'cMisyhanian. 

D'lSRAELI— CURIOSITIES    OF    LITERATURE, 

And  the  Literary  Character  illustrated,  by  \.  D'Israeli,  Esij.,  D.  C.  L.,  F.  S.  A. 
First  and  Second  Series.  Tlie  Literary  Character,  illustrated  by  the  Histo- 
ry of  Men  of  Genius,  drawn  from  their  own  feelings  and  confessions,  by  L 
D'Israeli,  Esq.  Curiosities  of  American  Literature,  compiled,  edited,  and 
arranged  by  Rev.  Rufus  W.  Griswold.  The  three  works  in  one  volume, 
large  tivo.  '  Price  $3  50. 

This  is  the  double  title  of  a  large  and  beautifully  printed  octavo  voliniie,  which  has  just  made 
its  appearance  in  the  World  of  Letters.  With  the  first  p'lrt  every  body  is  already  familiar.  The 
deep  research,  the  evident  enthusiasm  in  bis  sulyect,  ami  the  light  and  punj,'ent  liumor  displayed 
by  D'Israeli  in  it,  are  the  delight  of  all  classes  ot  readers,  and  fi'iW  undoubtedly  send  liim  down  a 
•neerful  journey  to  posterity,  if  only  on  account  of  the  pleasant  company  in  which  he  has  managed 
•o  agreeably  to  introduce  hims..'lf.  The  other  portion  of  this  work — that  relating  to  the  Curiosi- 
ties of  American  Literature  -is  entirely  new  to  the  public;  yet  wo  shall  be  disappointed  if  it  is 
not  oirectly  as  popular  as  the  otlier.  .^Ir.  Griswold  has  performed  his  task  in  a  niaimor  highly 
creditable  to  his  tante,  while  displaying  most  favorably  his  industry,  tact,  a;.d  perseverance. — JVei» 
Yirrk  Tribune. 

DE    LEUZE.-PRACTICAL    INSTRUCTION    IN    ANIMAI, 

Magnetism,  by  J.  P.  F.  De  Leuze,  translated  by  Thomas  C.  Hartshorn.  Re- 
vised edition,  with  an  Appendix  of  Notes  by  the  Translator,  and  l>etlerB 
from  Imminent  Pliysicians  and  others,  descriptive  of  cases  in  the  U.  States. 
One  volume,  12m'o.     $1  00. 

The  translator  of  this  work  has  certainly  presented  the  piofession  with  an  uncommonly  wel* 
di^vted  treatise,  c.,.'ianced  in  value  by  his  own  notes  and  the  corroborative  testimony  of  emiiMBt 
9ii>rji«i(in«. — Boston  Med  4*  Surg.  Journal. 


'^0>f!-- 


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1 .,' 


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^'f. 


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Appletoii's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 


ELLIS— THE  DAUGHTERS  OF  ENGLAND; 

Tiieir  position   in   Hociuty,  Clinracter,  and  lied]>unsibilities.     Bj  Mrs.  Ellis. 
In  one  iiandsoine  volume,  lUinio.,  cloth  gilt.     50  cents. 

ELLIS— THE  WOMEN  OF  ENGLAND; 

Tlieir  Social  Duties  and  Domestic  Habits.     By  Mrs.  Ellis.     One  handsome 
volume,  lymc,  cloth  gilt.     50  cents. 

ELLIS.-THE  WIVES  OF  ENGLAND; 

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ELLIS.-THE  MOTHERS  OF  ENGLAND; 

Their  Influence  and  Responsibility.     By  Mrs.  Ellis.     One  handsome  volume, 
J2mo.,  cloth  gilt.     50  cents. 

'I'iiis  is  an  nppropriiito  nnd  vnry  viiluiible  conclusion  to  tho  HDrios  of  works  on  the  aubjoct  o( 
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ELLIS -FIRST  IMPRESSIONS; 

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ume, ISmo.     37  1-2  cents. 
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human  species." — Bath  Chronicle. 

EVANS.-EVENINGS  WITH  THE  CHRONICLERS; 

Oi"  Uncle  Rupert's  Tales  of  Chivalry.     By  R.  M.  Evans.     With  seventeen 
illustrations.     One  volume,  16mo.,  elegantly  bound,  75  cents. 

This  would  have  been  a  volume  af\er  our  own  hearts,  while  we  were  younser,  and  it  in 
icarcoly  less  so  now  when  we  ire  somewhat  older.  It  discourses  of  those  things  wliiLli  iharmcd 
all  of  us  in  early  youth — the  daring  deeds  of  the  Knights  and  Squires  of  feudnl  warfare — Iho  true 
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ers by  a  series  of  wood  engravings,  beautifully  executed. — Courier  ^  Evqvirer, 

EVANS-THE  HISTORY  OF  JOAN  OF  ARC. 

By  R.  M.  Evans,  author  of  "  E'.  enings  with  the  Chroniclers,  '  with  t^venty- 
four  elegant  illustrations.     One  volume,  IGnio.     Extra  gilt.     75  cents. 

In  the  work  before  us,  we  have  not  only  a  most  interesting  biography  of  this  female  prodigy, 
including  what  she  was  and  what  she  accomplished,  but  also  a  faithful  account  of  tho  relations 
that  exir'.ed  between  En^rland  and  Franco,  and  I'C  tin'  singular  »t 'te  of  things  that  marked  tho 
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ration for  her  heroic  qualities,  or  scarcely  repress  your  tears  in  view  of  her  ignominious  end.  To 
Uio  youthful  reader  wc  hcuttily  recommit nd  thi*  velum'-. — Mbanij  .ificertiter. 

H 


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By  Mri.  Ellii. 


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;ation8.     By  Mrt 
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noBB,  but  also  by  tho 


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ind  thoir  Children." 
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;'. 


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EVANS— THE  RECTORY  OF  VALEHEAD; 

Or,  the  llerords  of  a  Holy  Home.     By  the  Rev.  R.  W.  Evans.     From  th« 

tweinii  English  edition.     One  voliimti,  IGino.     75  cents. 

UniverKnlly  anil  cordially  do  wn  rocoininond  this  dolightful  volume  Wo  boliovo  no  pcrio* 
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mestary  on  tlio  afloi'tiouato  warning,  "  Ri'incinbcr  thy  Creator  in  tho  days  of  thy  youth."  V\'« 
h^ve  not  for  somo  tiinu  scon  u  work  wo  could  so  duacrvcdly  praise,  or  so  consciontiously  roconi- 
tijiiiJ  — Literary  Qazcttr, 

EMBURY— NATURE'S  GEMS;  OR,  AMERICAN  FLOWERS 

(n  their  Native  Haunts.  By  Emma  C.  Embury.  With  twenty  plates  oflMniitt 
rarefully  colored  after  Nature,  and  landscape  views  of  their  localities, 
from  dravviiig.-^itaken  on  the  spot,  by  E.  W.  Wiiitefield.  One  imperial  oc- 
tavo volume,  printed  on  the  finest  paper,  and  elegantly  bound. 

This  boautiful  work  will  undoubtedly  form  a  ''Oirt-nook"  for  all  sonsons  of  tho  year.  It  i« 
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feature  of  .\merican  scenery.  Tiie  literary  plan  of  the  book  dill'ers  entirely  from  that  of  any  other 
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Bcription,  though  therhief  part  of  tho  volume  is  composed  of  original  tales  and  poetry,  illustrative 
of  the  senlimenfs  of  the  flowers,  or  associated  with  tlio  landscapi;.  No  pains  or  expense  has  boon 
spared  in  the  nu  rlianical  execution  of  llio  volume,  and  the  f  ict  that  it  is  purely  American  both 
in  its  graphic  and  literary  departments,  sliould  recommend  it  to  genera]  notice. 

EWBANK— HYDRAULICS  AND  MECHANICS. 

A  Descriptive  tind  Historical  Account  of  Hydraulic  and  other   Machines  for 

raising  VV^ater,  including  the  iSteam  and  Fire  Engines,  ancient  and  tnodern  ; 

witii  Observations  on  various  subjects  connected  with  the  Mechanic  Arts  ; 

including   the   Progressive   Development  of  tiie   Steam    Engine.     In   five 

books.     Illustrated    by  nearly    three   htuidred    Engravings.     By   Thomas 

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FABER— THE  PRIMITIVE  DOCTRINE  OF  ELECTION; 

Or,  an  Historical  Inquiry  into  the  Ideality  and  Causation  of  Scriptural  Elec- 
tion, as  received  and   maintained  in   tlie  primitive  Church  of  Christ.     By 
George  Stanley    Faber,   B.    D.,   author    of  "Difficulties    of  Romanism,' 
"Difficulties  of  Infidelity,"  &c.     Cotnpletein  one  volume,  octavo.    $1  75. 

Mr.  Faber  verifies  liis  opinion  by  demonstration.  We  cannot  pay  a  higher  rcspoct  tohiawork 
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FALKNER— THE  FARMER'S  MANUAL. 

A  Practical  Treatise  on  the   Nature   and   Value  of  Manures,   founded    from 

Experiments  on  various  Crops,  with  a  brief  Account  of  the  most  Recent 

Discoveries  in  Agricultural  Chemistry.     By  F.  Falkner  and  the  Author  of 

"  British  Husbandry."     12mo.,  paper  cover  31  cents,  cloth  50  cents. 

It  is  the  object  of  tho  present  treatise  to  explain  the  nature  and  constitution  of  manures  geno- 
rrtlly — to  point  out  the  moans  of  augmenting  the  quantity  and  preserving  the  fertilizing  power  of 
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FARMER'S  TREASURE,  THE  ; 

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FOSTER— ESSAYS  ON  CHRISTIAN  MORALS, 

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Thia  volume  contains  twenty-six  Essayfi,  somo  uf  which  are  of  the  highest  order  of  lubUmitf 
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ciaion  of  Iliiinan  Character,"  etc.     One  volume,  I'Jino.,  $1  25. 

'J'lirHc  contrilxitioiiH  woll  dcservo  to  cliiss  with  tlioso  of  .Maciiuli'y,  Joffrtiy,  and  Siilnoy  flmith, 
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di!)>|)(!r  iinprui^sioii  upon  our  litiT.ituru  ;  mid  who!4(!  pcculiiir  iiioTit  it  /  ^m  to  pr('H(Mit  the  doctrine! 
and  iiioralitioH  of  the  C'iiristiiin  f.iith,  under  a  form  und  UHpnct  \\  hit  li  ri'ii<"Aiiisd  thn  fauiiliaf  from 
trit(!ll(.•^<3,  und  throw  a  chiirni  and  frusiineBS  uhout  the  guvoront  triilhs, —  L^iulon  Patriot. 

FROST.-THE  BOOK  OF  THE  NAVY: 

CoiiiprisiniT  a  (Jeneral  History  of  the  American  Marine,  and  particular  account! 
ot  all  the  most  celebrated  Nava.  Battles,  from  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  to  the  present  time,  compiled  from  the  best  authorities.  By  John 
Frost,  LL.  D.  With  an  Appendix,  containing  Naval  Songs,  Anecdotes, 
&.V,.  Kmbeliislied  with  numerous  original  Engravings,  and  Portraits  of 
distinguished  Naval  Commanders.     One  volume,  12mo.,  |^1  00. 

This  is  tim  only  popular  find  yet  authentic  singln  view  which  wo  liiivo  of  the  nnval  exploits  ot 
our  country,  arranfji-d  with  good  taste  and  sot  forth  in  fjood  IiiiKuago  — U.  S.  (hnette. 

This  volume  is  dedicated  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  is  alto?et)ior  a  very  failliful  ond 
attractive  historical  record.     It  deserves,  and  will  doulrtless  have,  a  very  extended  ciri.uUition 

— JVat   Intelligencer, 

FROST.-THE  BOOK  OF  THE  ARMY: 

Comprising  a  General  Military  History  of  tlie  United  Statf-s,  from  tJie  period 
of  the  Revolution  to  the  present  time,  with  particular  accounts  of  all  the 
most  celebrated  Battles,  compiled  from  the  best  authorities.  By  Joht 
Frost,  LL.  1>.  Illustrated  with  numerous  Engravings,  and  portraits  o/ 
distinguished  Commanders.     One  voluiric,  iJimo.,  ijfil  25. 

This  work  ijivcs  a  conip!"to  history  of  military  operations,  and  their  ciuses  and  effects,  fron 
the  openim;  of  tliu  llovolution  \f<  llie  close  of  the  last  war,  with  ^fnphic  di'srri[itions  of  the  cela 
lirated  h.ittlcs  and  i'li;:r:uti,'[.-t  ofth  i  leudin;,'  generals.  It  is  illustrated  with  n'lincrous  portraits  oi 
Bleel  and  views  of  liatllcs,  IVoju  or  ;;inal  <lrawin;;s  hy  Dnrloy  and  others.  The  itnportaiice  of  jtop 
ular  works  of  the  clis.i  to  which  tl.is  and  the  '•  Hook  of  the  Navy  "  bclonfr.  n;ust  he  ohvioue  to  a/ 
vho  recognize  the  value  of  national  recollections  in  preserving  a  true  national  spirit. 

FRESENI'JS.— CHEMICAL  ANALYSIS. 

Elementary  Instru  tion  in  Chemical  Analysis.  By  Dr.  C.  Rheniigiiis  Frese- 
nius.  With  a  Preface  by  Prof  Liebig.  Edited  by  I.  Lloyd  Bullock.  One 
neat  volume,  12mo.     Paper,  75  cents  ;  cloth,  i^X  00. 

This  Introduction  to  Practical  ('hemistry  is  admitted  to  bo  the  most  valuable  Elementary  It»- 
ttructor  in  Chemical  Analysis  fo  scientific  operatives,  and  for  ph&rmacoutical  chemists,  which  has 
ever  been  presented  to  the  public, 

GUIZOT.— THE  YOUNG  STUDENT; 

^)r,  Ralph  and  Victor.     By  Madame  Guizot.     From  the  French,  by  Samuel 

Jackson.     One  volume  of  500  pages,  with  illustrations.     Price  75  cents,  or 

in  three  volumes,  $1  1^. 

This  volume  of  biograpiiicjil  incidents  if:  a  striking  picture  of  juvenile  life  To  nil  that  num- 
berless class  ot"  yoiilli  who  arc  passing  llirough  tln-ir  literary  education,  whcfhcr  in  boaniing- 
pi-hc)()is  or  :icm!  iiii''s,  ill  the  collegiate  course,  or  tin.'  preparatory  stu. lies  connected  with  them,  \ve 
know  nothing  more  piecisely  titfed  to  meliorate  their  character,  and  ilircct  their  course,  subordi- 
nate to  the  higher  authority  of  Christian  ethics,  than  this  excellent  delineation  of  "  The  Young 
Student,"  by  Madame  Guizot.  *  •  *  'I'he  French  Academy  wore  correct  in  their  judgment, 
when  they  pronounced  Madame  Guizot'a  Student  the  best  book  of  the  yniix.—  Courier  Sf  Enquirtr. 

GUIZOT.-GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  CIVILIZATION 

In  Europe,  froni  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  to  the  FrencJi  Revolution. 
Translated  from  the  French  of  M.  Guizot,  Professor  of  History  to  la  Facul- 
t6  des  Lettres  of  Paris,  and  Minister  of  Public  Instruction.  Third  Ameri- 
can edition,  with  Notes,  by  C.  S.  Henry,  D.  D.  One  handsome  volume, 
12mo.,  $1  00. 

M.  Guizot  in  his  instructive  Leetures  has  ^iven  us  an  epitome  ol'nv  dorn  history,  distinguished 
by  all  the  merit  which,  in  another  department,  renders  niackstono  a  subject  of  such  peculiar  and 
auboundod  praise — a  work  closely  condense  \,  including  nothing  useless,  omitting  nothing  ssten 
tial  i  written  wuh  grace,  and  conceived  and  irranged  with  consummate  ability. — BosU  IVavilltr 

10 


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tli(»r  of*  Essays  on  D»» 
mo.,  $1  25. 

■,  Jojrr<!y,  and  Sidnoy  Htnith, 
>ri;{itiai  ii.iii  profound  tliinker 
uii  lii.M  roadcrH,  and  Iiur  lolt  a 
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1  rcii<";)mod  the  lauiilia.'  from 
—  f.i'iuion  Patriot. 


and  particular  account! 
:^cIaralion  of  Iiidepond 
autlioritii's.  By  John 
yal  Songs,  Anecdotes, 
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iiivo  of  the  nnvnl  exploiti  ot 
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togetlior  a  very  faiiliful  nnd 
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•Jtatf  s,  from  the  period 
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lir  r.iusos  and  effects,  fron 
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French  Revolution, 
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Appleton's  Catalogue  of  Vuluahlr.  Publications. 


GRISWOLD— CURIOSITIES  OF  AMER.  LITERATURE: 

Compiled,  edited,  and  arranged   by  Rev.  Riifus  \V.  (Jriswold.     See  D'liraeli 

GIRL'S  MANUAL: 

Comprising  a  summary  View  of  Female  Studies,  Accomplishments,  and  Pria 
ciples  oi'fyonduct.     Frontispiece.     One  volume,  18mo  ,  50  cents. 

GOLDSMITH-PICTORIAL  VICAR  OF  WAKEFIELD. 

The  Vicar  d' Wakefield.     By  Oliver  (loldsmith.     Illustrated  with  iipwardi  of 

100  engravings  on  wood,  making  a  beautiful  volume,  octavo,  of  300  page*. 

$1  25.     The  same,  miniature  size,  37  1-2  cents. 

VVn  love  to  turn  bark  over  those  rirb  old  classics  of  our  own  Innjuago,  and  re-juvenate  our- 
aolves  by  tiio  never-failing  associations  wliich  a  re-perusal  always  culls  up.  Let  any  one  who  hoa 
not  read  this  immortal  talo  for  fifteen  or  twenty  yars,  try  the  experiment,  and  wo  will  warrant 
that  ho  rises  up  from  tin'  ta«k — the  pleasure,  we  should  have  »nid — a  happier  and  a  better  man. 
In  the  good  old  Vicnr  of  Wakefield,  all  is  puro  gold,  without  dross  or  alloy  of  any  kind,  Thia 
much  we  have  said  to  our  last  cencration  roadors.  This  edition  of  the  work,  however,  wo  take  it, 
was  got  up  for  the  benefit  of  the  rising  generation,  nnd  wo  really  onvy  our  young  frienda  the  plea- 
•uro  which  is  before  such  of  them  as  will  road  it  I      'bo  first  time. — Savannah  Republican, 


GOLDSMITH— ESSAYS  ON 


lOUS  SUBJECTS, 


By  Oliver  Goldsmith.     Miniature  size, .,,   1-2  cents. 

Forming  ono  of  the  seiies  of"  .Miniature  Classical  Library." 

GRESLEY— PORTRAIT  OF  A  CHURCHMAN, 

By  the  Rev.  W.  Gresley,  A.  M.     From  the  Seventh  English  edition.     Ono 

elegant  volume,  IGmo.,  75  cents. 

"  The  main  part  of  this  admirable  volume  is  occupied  upon  the  illustration  of  the  prtutieal 
irorkinir  of  Church  priuriple.i  ichen  sincerely  receireil,  sotting  forth  their  value  in  the  commerce  d 
daily  life,  and  how  surely  they  conduct  those  who  einiiraco  them  in  the  safe  and  quiet  pttth  of  holT 
life." 

GRESLEY.-A  TREATISE  ON  PREACHING, 

In  a  Series  of  Letters  by  the  Rev.  W.  Gresley,  M.  A.  Revised,  with  Supple- 
mentary Notes,  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  I.  Haight,  M.  A.,  Rector  of  AH 
Saints'  Church,  New  York.     One  volume,  12nio.     $1  25. 

.Advertisement. — In  preparing  the  American  edition  of  Mr.  Grcsley's  valuable  Treatiio,  a  few 
root-notes  have  been  added  by  the  Editor,  which  arc  distinguished  by  brackets.  The  more  extend- 
ed notes  at  the  end  have  been  selected  from  the  best  works  on  the  subject — and  which,  with  on* 
or  two  exceptions,  are  not  easily  accessible  to  the  American  student. 

HAMILTON.-THE  LIFE  OF  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON, 

Edited  by  his  son,  John  C.  Hamilton.     Two  volumes,  8vo.,  j|5  00. 

Wo  cordially  recommend  the  perusal  and  diligent  study  of  these  volumes,  exhibiting,  aa  thay 
do,  much  valuable  matter  rotative  to  the  llevolution,  the  establishment  of  the  Federal  ConitiUi- 
tion,  and  other  important  events  in  the  annals  of  our  country. — JV.  Y.  Review. 

HEMANS.-THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS 

Of  Felicia  Hernans,  printed  from  the  last  English  edition,  edited  by  her  Siater. 

Illustrated  with  G  steel  Engravings.     One  beautifully  printed  and  portable 

volume,  16mo.,  ^         ,  or  in  two  volumes,  $ 

Of  thia  highly  accomplished  poetcsa  it  has  been  trulysaid,  that  of  allher  sex  '*  few  hare  writ- 
ten BO  much  and  so  well."  Although  her  writings  possess  an  energy  eijual  to  their  high-toned 
beauty,  yet  are  they  so  pure  nnd  so  refined,  that  not  a  line  of  them  could  feeling  spare  or  delicacy 
Wot  fiom  her  pages.  Her  imagination  v/as  rich,  chaste,  and  glowing.  Her  chosen  themes  are  tha 
scaiile,  the  hearth-stone,  and  the  death-bod.  In  her  poems  of  CfPur  de  Lion,  Ferdinand  of  Ara- 
|on,  and  Bernard  del  Carpio,  we  see  berieath  the  glowing  colors  with  which  she  clothes  her  ideaa, 
the  feelings  of  a  teaman's  heart.  Her  ehrlior  poems.  Records  of  Woman  and  Forest  Sanctuary, 
rtand  unrivalled.     In  short,  her  works  will  ever  ijoroadby  a  pious  and  enlightened  community. 

HEMANS-SONGS  OF  THE  AFFECTIONS, 

By  Felicia  Hernans.     One  volume,  32r.io.,  gilt      31  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  aeries  of   Miniature  Classical  Library." 

HARE— SERMONS  TO  A  COUNTRY  CONGREGATION, 

By  Augustus  William  Hare,  A.  M.,  la^e  Fellow  of  New  College,  and  Rector  of 
Alton  Barnes.     One  volume,  royal  8vo.,  $2  25. 

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Appleton's  Catalogue  of  V'^oluahle  Publications. 

HALL.— THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  DIAGNOSIS, 

Uy  Marshall  Hall,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  8  ,  «&<-.     Scrnnd  edition,  with  many  improve* 

ments.     By  Dr.  John  A.  Sweet.     One  volume,  bvo.,  $'i  00. 

Thin  work  '^a*  published  in  acconlance  wiiii  the  ilniiiro  of  nome  of  the  mott  cnlnbratcil  phyci- 
•iani  or  this  country,  who  were  nnxious  that  it  should  he  lirnnght  within  the  reach  of  all  claasw 
al  medical  men,  to  whose  attention  it  otTcrs  strong  claims  as  the  best  work  on  the  subject. 

HAZEN.— SYMBOLICAL  SPELLING-BOOK. 

T!.«  Symbolical  Speiling-Book,  in  two  parts.  By  Edward  Hazen.  Contaia- 
ing  288  engravings.     IS  3-4  cents. 

This  work  is  used  in  upwards  of  one  thousand  difTorcnt  schools,  and  pronounced  to  be  aiM  d 
the  best  works  published. 

HODGE.— THE  STEAM-ENGINE: 

Ita  Origin  and  gradual  Improvement,  from  the  time  of  Hero  to  the  present  day, 

aa  adapted  to  Manufactures,  Locomotion,  and  Navigation.     Illustrated  with 

48  Plates  in   full   detail,  numerous  wood  cuts,  &c.     By  Paul  U.  Hodge, 

C.  £.     One  volume  foli^  of  plates,  and  letter-press  In  8vo.     $10  00. 

This  work  should  bo  placed  in  the  "  Captain's  Office"  of  every  steamer  in  our  country, nnd 
also  with  every  engineer  to  whom  is  confided  the  control  of  the  engine.  From  it  they  would  de- 
rive all  the  information  which  would  enable  them  to  comprehend  the  cnu«<)  nnd  effects  of  every 
ordinary  accident,  and  also  the  method  promptly  and  successfully  to  repair  any  injury,  and  to  rem- 
edy any  defect. 

HOLYDAY  TALES: 

Consisting  of  pleasing  Moral  Stories  for  the  Young.  One  volume,  square 
l6mo.,  with  numerous  illustrations.     37  1-2  cents. 

Tkie  if  a  moat  capital  little  book.  The  stories  are  evidently  written  by  an  able  hand,  and  that 
•ao  in  an  exceedingly  i.ttructive  style. — Spectator. 

HOOKER.— THE  COMPLETE  WORKS 

Of  that  learned  and  judicious  divine,  Mr.  Richard  Hooker,  with  an  account  of 
his  Life  and  Death.  By  Isaac  Walton.  Arranged  by  the  Rev.  John  Keble, 
M.  A.  First  American  from  the  last  Oxford  editi<m.  With  a  complete 
general  Index,  and  Index  of  the  texts  of  Scripture,  prepared  expressly  for 
this  edition.     Two  elegant  volumes,  8vo.,  $4  00. 

CofiTssTs. — The  Editor's  Preface  comprises  a  genoral  survey  of  the  former  edition  of  Hooker'f 
Works,  with  Historical  Illustrations  of  the  period.  After  which  fullown  tliu  Life  of  Hooker,  by 
Isaac  VValtoii.     His  chief  work  succeeds,  on  the  "  Laws  of  Ecclesiasticnl  Polity." 

It  commences  with  a  lengthened  Preface  dcsipnod  us  un  address  "to  them  who  seek  the  refor- 
mati'm  of  the  Laws  and  Orders  Erclusiasticnl  of  tiie  Church  of  England."  The  discussion  is  divi- 
ded intoeight  books,  which  include  an  investigation  of  tht>  lopicH.  Al\cr  those  eight  l>uok8  of  the 
"Laws  of  Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  follow  two  :*ermons,  "'J'he  certainty  nnd  pnrpptuity  of  Faith  in 
the  elect;  espcciull^of  the  Prophet  Ilabakkuk's  faith  ;"  and  "  Jusiitication,  VVorks,  and  how  the 
foundation  of  faith  is  overthrown."  Next  ure  introduced  "  A  supplication  made  to  the  Council 
by  Muster  Walter  Travers,"  nnd  "Mr.  Hooker's  answer  to  the  supplic;ition  that  Mr  Tracers 
made  to  the  Council."  I'hen  follow  two  Sermons — *'  On  the  nature  of  Pride,"  and  a  '*  Remedy 
against  Sorrow  and  Fear."  Two  Sermons  on  part  of  the  epistle  of  the  Apostle  Jude  are  next  in- 
serted, with  n  prefatory  do.lication  by  Henry  Jackson.  The  lust  article  in  tlie  works  of  Mr.  ilookei 
la  a  Sermon  «>n  Prnyor. 

The  English  edition  in  three  volumes  sells  at  $10  00.  The  Americon  is  an  exact  reprint,  at 
less  than  half  the  price. 

HUDSON.— THE  ADVENTURES  OF  HENRY  HUDSON, 

By  the  autlMr  of  "  Uncle  Philips  Conversations."  Frontispiece.  Idmo, 
cloth.     37  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of'*  A  Library  for  my  Young  Countrymen." 

Thia  little  volume  furnisher  ns,  from  authentic  sources,  the  indft  important  facta  in  this  cc'e- 
wated  adventurer's  life,  hnd  in  a  stylo  that  possesses  more  than  ordini'.:y  interest. — Evening  P«.< 

HOWITT.-THE  CHILD^S  PICTURE  AND  VERSE-BOOK; 

Commonly  called  "Otto  Speckter's  Fable-Book."  Translated  from  the  Ger- 
man by  Mary  Howitt.  Illustrated  with  100  engravings  on  wood.  Square 
12mo.,  in  ornamental  binding,  $ 

A  celebrated  German  review  says,  '-Of  this  production,  which  makes  itself  an  epoch  in  the 
wwld  of  children,  it  is  superfluous  to  apeak.  The  Fable-Rook  is  throughout  all  (iermany  in  t)i« 
■*oda  of  parents  and  children,  and  will  alwaye  be  new,  hecauae  every  year  fresh  children  are  hom  * 

13 


>ns. 


nany  improve* 

;  cnlnbratPd  ph;fi> 
^ach  of  all  clatMs 
e  subject. 

;en.  ContaiB- 
meed  to  b«  aat  d 


le  present  day, 

lIuHtrated  with 

aiil  U.  Hodge, 

$10  00. 

I  our  country,  nmi 

it  they  would  de- 

d  etfecm  of  every 

ijury,  and  to  rem- 


olume,  sqiiar* 
ble  hand,  and  that 


an  account  of 
iT.  John  Keble, 
[h  n  complete 

expressly  for 


lition  of  Hooker'f 
i'o  of  Hooker,  bi 

lo  neck  the  refor- 
lisruiision  ii  divi- 
i!,'ht  tHJokn  of  the 
tuity  of  Fnith  in 
rk«.  and  how  the 
lu  to  tlie  Couiirii 
hnt  Mr  Traten 
and  a  ■'  Remedy 
ude  are  next  in- 
ks of  Mr.  iiookei 

exact  reprint,  at 

D80N, 

ece.     Idmo, 


icts  in  thii  cr'e- 
— Evening  PoM. 

E-BOOK; 
■om  the  Ger- 
>od.     Square 


an  opo«:h  in  the 
Germany  in  tiie 
Idrnnar*  horn  * 


/ 


\ 


Applcton's  Catalogue  of  V^nluahle  Publictitions. 


HOWITT.-LOVE  AND  MONEY; 

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NO  SENSE  LIKE  COMMON  SENSE; 

A  Tale.     By  Mary  Howitt.     l8mo.,  two  Plates,  cloth  gilt,  38  cents. 

*^*  The  above  ten  volumng  form  a  portion  of  the  icries  puhlifihod  under  the  general  title  ol 

'•Talc*  for  tho  People  and  their  Children." 

Of  Into  ypiirfi  many  writers  have  exerted  their  tnlonti  in  juvenile  literature,  with  ?rcnt  lucceas. 
Misi  Martiiicnu  hn«  made  poli-<.cal  economy  as  familiar  to  boys  aa  it  formerly  wa^i  to  ■tatcameii. 
Ourown  MisK  Hodgwick  has  produced  Homoofthe  moit  beautiful  moral  itorii.-R,  for  the  edification 
and  delight  of  child.-en,  wlii'-h  have  ever  been  written.  The  Hon.  Horace  Mnnn,  in  addieitea  to 
nilulta,  hai«  pronentod  the  cInimR  of  children  for  good  education,  with  a  power  and  olo(]U«-nce  o( 
f  tylc,  and  an  nievnticn  of  thougiit,  which  sliowi  hifi  heart  is  in  his  work.  The  stories  of  Mary 
llitwiit  Iliiiriet  .Martinenu,  >",'••«.  (Jopley,  and  Mr«.  KIlis,  which  form  a  part  of"  ThIps  for  tlie  Peo- 
ple and  thxir  (.'liildren."  will  h»  ^uud  valuable  addition*  to  juvenile  literature  ;  at  the  anmo  tiin« 
they  nmy  br>  read  with  proHt  by  parents  for  the  good  loisons  they  inculcate, and  by  all  other  read- 
ers for  thi-  limrary  rxri'licnco  they  display 

Wo  wisli  they  '*ould  Itn  placed  in  the  hands  andeni^aven  on  the  minds  of  all  the  you'n  in  the 
country.  Tlicy  manifest  n  nice  uiid  accurate  observation  of  human  nature,  and  especially  the  na- 
tu  c  ofchildrcn,afinefiympatliy  with  every  thing  good  and  pure,  and  a  capability  of  infusing  it  in 
the  minds  of  others — great  benuty  and  simplicity  of  stylo,  and  a  keen  eye  to  practical  life,  with  all 
its  faults,  united  with  a  deep  love  for  ideal  excellence. 

Mijssrs  Appleton  ic  Co  de<«crve  tho  highest  praise  for  tho  oxcollcnt  manner  in  which  they 
have  "got  up  "  their  juvenile  liiirury.  and  we  sincerely  hope  that  its  success  will  be  so  great  as  to 
induce  them  to  make  continu:il  contributions  to  its  treasures.  The  collection  is  one  which  should 
\h!  owned  by  every  pitrontwho  wisliOH  tliat  the  moral  and  intdloctual  iniprovcmcntof  his  children 
should  keep  pace  with  their  growth  in  years,  and  the  development  of  their  physical  powera^— 
jlmmrieoH  Traveller 

JERRAM.-THE  CHILD'S  OWN  STORY-BOOK; 

Or,  Tales  and  Dialogues  for  the  Nursery.     By  Mrs.  Jerram  (late  Jane  Eliza- 
beth Holmes).     Illustrated  with  numerous  Engravings.     50  cents. 

There  are  seventy  stories  in  this  volume.  They  are  admirably  adapted  for  the  conntloM 
fouth  for  whose  edification  they  are  narrated — Boiton  Oatettt. 

JOHNSON.-THE  HISTORY  OF  RASSELAS, 

Prince  of  Abyssinia — a  Tale.     By   Samuel  Johnsen,    LL.   D.     32mo.,   gilt 
leaves,  38  cents. 

*«,*  Foncing  one  of  the  series  of"  Miniature  Cloaiieal  Librorv." 

13 


1 


if;'.:*. 


P=    f.ii. 


Appteton's  Catalogue  of  Valuabk  Publications. 

JAME8.-THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN, 

Exemplified  in  a  Series  of  Addresses,  liy  Uev.  Juhn  Angell  James.     Oneyol 
IHiiio,  3'^  cents. 
Theso  adilrcsiei  aro  amongat  the  clioiccit  efTunioni  of  the  admirable  author. — Ckr.  InttU, 

THE  ANXIOUS  INQUIRER 

Art**-  Salvation  Directed  and  Encouraged.     By  Rev.  John  Angell  James. 

One  volume,  18mo.,  38  cents. 

Upwards  of  twenty  tlioimnnd  copin*  of  thii*  oxccllont  littlo  volume  have  been  told,  which  Ail^ 
Ktcits  the  high  oatimutiun  the  worii  has  attained  witli  tho  rnligiouR  comtnuiiity, 

HAPPINESS,  ITS  NATURE  AND  SOURCES. 

By  Rev.  John  Angell  James.     One  volume,  32mo.,  2.~)  cents. 

This  is  written  in  t)ie  excellent  author's  beat  vein.    A  better  book  wo  have  not  in  a  long  tinM 
•een. — Evangelist. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  PROFESSOR: 

n  a  Series  of  Counsels  and  Cautions  to  the  Members  of  Christian 
By  Rev.  John  Angell  James.     Second  edition.     One  volume, 


^lii 


Addressed 
Churches. 
18mo.,  G3  cents 
A  moit  excellent  work  from  tho  ablo  and  prolific  pen  of  Mr.  Jamet.— CAr.  IiUelligeneer 

THE  YOUNQ  MAN  FROM  HOME. 

In  a  Series  of  Letters,  especially  directed  for  the  Moral  Advancement  of 
Youth.      By   Rev.   John   Angell   Jaiu'-s.     Fifth   edition.      One   volume, 
]8mo.,  38  cents. 
The  work  is  a  rich  treasury  of  Christian  counsel  and  instruction. — Mbany  Advtrtutr 

THE  WIDOW  DIRECTED 

To  the  Widovir'g  God.     By  Rev.  John  Angell  James.     One  volume,  18mo., 

38  cents. 

The  book  in  worthy  to  be  read  by  others  besides  tho  class  for  which  it  is  especially  designed ; 
Ind  we  doubt  not  that  it  is  destined  to  come  as  a  friendly  visitor  to  many  a  house  of  mouriiin(i, 
md  as  a  healing  balm  to  many  a  wounded  heart. — JV.  Y.  Observer 

KEIGHTLEY.— THE  MYTHOLOGY  OF  GREECE 

And  Italy,  designed  for  the  use  of  Schools.  By  Thomas  Keightley.  Nume> 
rous  wood-cut  illustrations.     One  volume,  Idmo.,  half  bound,  44  cents. 

This  is  a  neat  little  volume,  and  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which  it  wos  prepared.  It 
presents,  in  a  very  compendious  and  convenient  form,  every  thing  relating  to  tho  subject,  of  impor- 
tance to  the  yonng  student. — L.  I.  Star, 

KINGSLEY.— THE  SACRED  CHOIR: 

A  Collection  of  Church  Music,  consisting  of  Selections  from  the  most  distin- 
guished Authors,  among  whom  are  the  names  of  Haydn,  Mozart,  Beetho- 
ven, Pergolessi,  &c.  &c.,  with  several  pieces  of  Music  by  the  Author,  also 
a  Progressive  Elementary  System  of  Instruction  for  Pupils.  By  George 
Kingsley,  author  of  the  Social  Choir,  &c.  «&c.     Fourth  edition.     75  cent^. 

Mr.  George  Kin^slcy  :  Sir, — We  have  exnminedtlie  "  Sacred  Choir  "  enough  to  lead  us  to  a^- 
praciato  the  work  as  tho  host  publication  of  Sacred  Music  extant,     ft  is  beautifully  printed  ani 
•■bstantially  bound,  conferring  credit  on  the  publishers.     We  bespeak  for  tho  "  Sacred  Cnoir" 
axteniivo  circulation  O.  8.  BowDOiit, 

Sincerely  yours,  E.  O.  Goodwin 

D.  Iroraham. 

KIP.-THE  DOUBLE  WITNESS  OF  THE  CHURCH, 

By  Rev.  Wm.  Ingraham  Kip,  author  of"  Lenten  Fast."     One  volume,  llmo 
Second  edition.     Boards  75  cents,  cloth  $1  L'^. 

This  is  a  sound,  clear,  and  able  production — a  book  much  wanted  for  these  times,  and  one  th«t 
we  feel  persuaded  will  prove  eminently  useful.  It  is  a  hnppy  delineation  of  that  doublb  witnrm 
which  the  Church  bears  asainst  Romanism  and  ultra-Prutpstantism,  and  points  out  her  midilk 
path  as  the  only  ovn  of  truth  tiid  safety. — Banner  t\fthe  Cross. 

14 


01 


itions. 


Jamei.     One  rol 
ithor— CJkr.  JntM, 

in  Angell  James. 

been  lold,  which  Ail^ 

iiiitT. 

OURCE8. 

8. 

lave  not  in  a  long  tiiiM 

nbers  of  Christian 
on.     One  volume, 

ir.  InttUigenter 

Advancement  of 
1.      One    volume, 

\y  Advertuer 

»e  volume,  Idmo., 

I  cipccially  deiigned ; 
a  house  of  inouriiin(ri 


ECE 

ightley.     Nume* 
und,  44  cents. 

it  waa  prepared.    It 
the  lubject,  of  iinpo»- 


the  most  distin- 

Mozart,  Beetho- 

the  Author,  also 

lils.     By  George 

ition.     75  cent^. 

ugh  to  lead  us  to  a^- 
aiitifully  printed  an4 
"Sacred  Lnoir" 

loWDOlIf, 

Goodwin 

R4HAM. 

JRCH, 

volume,  \1\no 


timet,  and  one  th«t 

at  DOUBLB  WITMRM 

linti  out  her  midJU 


Appleton's  Cataloffur  of  Vdluubk  Puhlirations. 

LAFEVER.-BEAUTJES  OF  MODERN    ARCHITECTURE 

Consisting  of  forty -ei^'lit   I'latt's  of  Orifjiiiiil   DcsIkih,  willi  Plans,  Elevations 
and  Sections,  also  a  Dirtionarv  of  Tfrjinical  Terms  ;  tho  wltnlo  forming 
coinplote  Manual  fur  tliu  I'racticuil   IJuilder.     Ily  M.  Laftiver,  Architee 
One  volume,  large  Hvo.,  half  bound,  $ii  00. 

STAIR-CASE  AND  HAND-RAIL 

Construction.  The  Modern  Practice  of  Stair-case  and  Hand-rail  Constructioi*^ 
practically  explained,  in  a  Series  of  Designs.  By  M.  Lafever,  Architecf 
With  Plan."*  and  F-h'vations  for  Urnaniental  Villas.  FiAeen  Plates.  On* 
volume,  large  8vo.,  ^3  00. 

Mr.  Lafevrr'd  "  ncniitim  of  ArcliitPctiirp,"  niul  hid  "  Prnrtire  of  ^tair-caite  and  Ifanil-rnil  cob 
■truction,"  rontitituto  two  voliitncR  rir.li  in  inntriinion  in  thnan  dp|>iirtinenti(  of  liuwinoiiK.  'I'Utty 
•rii  a  nnt  csRiiry  nnquinition  not  only  to  thn  nptTiitivu  worknmti,  l)iit  to  nil  lundlonlt  mid  propriotora 
of  huuscH,  who  woiil'l  coriiliino  botli  thoornuiiiontnl  and  uhpI'iiI  in  thnir  fiinuly  (!i<t  .llin^i,  and  aW 
undnrRtnnd  tho  most  economical  and  profitable  inoiica  by  which  their  editicei  can  bo  erected  an4 
repaired. 

LEWIS-RECORDS  OF  THE  HEART, 

By  Sarah  Anna  Lewis.     One  volume,  l^mo.,  $1  00. 

Wo  hnve  rciid  some  of  the  pinrp»  with  much  pleasure.  Th»»y  indicate  poetic  i^cnitti  of  no  opt 
dinnry  kiiiil,  ami  are  iiiibuud  with  much  fcniins  and  palhon.  VVn  wnlcomu  the  volume  a*  a  credit 
able  iicccHnion  to  tho  poetic  literature  of  tho  country. — Boston  Traotllfr, 

LIEBIG.-FAMILIAR  LETTERS  ON  CHEMISTRY, 

And  its  relation  to  Commerce,  Physiology,  and  Agriculture.  By  Justus  L.s- 
big,  M.  D.  Edited  by  John  Gardner,  M.  D.  One  volume.  13  cents 
in  paper,  25  cents  bound. 

The  Letters  contained  in  this  little  volume  embrace  some  of  the  most  important  point*  oi'  iha 
Science  of  Chemistry,  in  their  application  to  Natural  Philosophy,  Physiology,  Agriculture,  and 
Commerce. 

LETTER-WRITER, 

The  Useful   Letter-Writer,  comprising  a  succinct  Treatise  on  the  Epistolnr^r 
Art,  and  Forms  of  Letters  for  all  ordinary  Occasions  of  Life.     Compiled 
from  the  host  authorities.     Frontispiece.     :i2mo.,  gilt  leaves,  33  cents. 
Forming  one  of  tho  series  of  '■  Miniature  Classical  Library." 

LOOKING-GLASS  FOR  THE  MIND; 

Or,  Intellectual  Mirror.     Being  an  elegant  Collection  of  the  most  delightAil 
little  Stories  and  interesting  Tales  ;  chiefly  translated  from  that  much  ad- 
mired  work,  L'ami   des  Eufans.     Illu'strated  with  numerous  wood-cuts 
From  the  twentieth  London  edition.     One  volume,  IHmo  ,  50  cents. 
Forming  one  of  tho  series  of"  Talcs  for  the  People  and  ihoir  Children." 

LOG  CABIN: 

Or,  The  World  before  You.     By  the  author  of  "  Three  Experiments  of  Lir 
ing,"  "  The  Huguenots  in  France  and  America,"  etc.     One  volume,  18mo., 
50  cents. 
Every  person  who  tnkes  up  this  volume  will  road  it  with  interest.    It  is  truly  what  the  writM 

intended  it  should  he — ''  A  Gnide  to  Usefulness  and  Happiness." 

LOVER— HANDY  ANDY: 

K  Tale  of  Irish  Life,  by  Samuel  Lover.     Illustrated  with  twenty-three  char- 
acteristic steel  Engravings.     One  volume,  8vo.,  cloth  .|tl  25,  boards  ^l  GO 
Cheap  edition,  two  Plates,  paper,  5U  cents. 

This  boy  Handy  will  be  the  death  of  us.  What  i-i  the  police  force  ab*iit  to  oilow  the  utteriof 
"fa  publication  that  has  already  bruuglil  us  to  the  brink  of  apoplox?  fifty  times.' — SporU  Review. 

L.  8.  D.— TREASURE  TROVE  : 

A  Tale,  by  Samuel   Lover.     One  volume,  tivo.,  with  two  steel   Engraving* 
Paper  cover,  25  cents. 

Tnis  is  n  capital  thing.  The  gny  and  the  Rrnve,  the  ••  lively  and  severe."  are  uniV^I  with  m 
•kilfL.  hand,  and  there  is  a  latent  tone  ofHouiid  niorulity  running  through  "  L.  S  D."  which  will 
■«T«  a  lasting  value  to  its  pages. — Commtrcial  Advertiser. 

15 


il:^_ 


E'v  T 


■i-' 


N 


Appleton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 


\ 


LUCY  AND  ARTHUR; 

A  Booh  for  Children.     Illustrated  with  numerouB  engravings,  elegantly  bouik 
in  cloth.     GO  cent?. 

Ijucv  nnd  Artliiir  i«  a  charmin!;  utorr  of  the  numeric,  prepared  oy  an  experienced  author.  S* 
eure  it  htr  tiie  famWy.—^mericati  Traveller. 

LYRA  AP08T0LICA. 

From  the  Fitlh  English  edition.     One  elegantly  printed  volume,  75  centi. 

In  thi«  elojjaiit  volume  there  are  forty-five  scctiong,  and  one  hundred  and  geventy-nino  rrfe 
poemH,  ull  short,  and  many  of  them  sweet. — AVto  York  American, 

MAGEE.— ON  ATONEMENT  AND  SACRIFICE: 

Discourses  on*  Tiiaaeitutions  on  tiie  Scriptural  Doctrines  of  Atonement  and 

Sacrifice,  an  i    ><•  the  Principal  Arguments  advanced,  and   the   Mode  of 

Reasoning  employed,  by  the  Opponents  of  those  Doctrines,  a»  held  by  the 

Established  Church.     By  the  late  Most  Rev.  William  M'Gee,  D.  D.,  Arch> 

bishop  of  Dublin.     Two  volumes,  Bvo.,  $5  00. 

Thifi  is  one  of  the  ablest  critical  and  polcr.iical  works  of  modern  times.  The  profound  biblical 
informiition  on  a  variety  of  topics  which  the  Archbishop  brings  forward,  must  endear  bis  name  to 
all  lovers  of  Christianity. — Orine, 

MANNING.-THE  UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH, 

By  the  Rev.  Henry  Edward  Manning,  M.  A.,  Archdeacon  of  Chichester.    On« 
volume,  IGmo  ,  $1  00. 

Part  I.  Tho  History  and  Exposition  of  the  Doctrine  of  Catholic  Unity.  Part  11.  The  Moral 
Design  of  Catholic  Unity.  Purt  lU.  The  Doctrine  of  Catholic  Unity  applied  to  the  Actual  State 
of  Chri.otendom. 

Wu  coinmvnd  it  earnestly  to  tho  devout  and  serious  perusal  of  all  Churchmen,  and  particularly 
of  all  clergymen,  ug  the  able^il  discussion  we  over  met  with  of  a  deeply  and  vitally  important  sub- 
ject.— Churchman. 

MARRYAT— MASTERMAN  READY; 

Or,  The  Wreck  of  the  Pacific.     Written  for  Young  Persons,  by  Capt.  Marry* 
at.      Complete  in  3  vols.,  18mo.,  with  Frontispiece,  cloth  gilt,  $1  25. 
Forming  a  portion  of  the  series  of"  Tales  for  the  People  and  their  Children." 

We  have  never  seen  any  thin?  from  the  same  pen  we  like  as  well  as  this.  It  is  the  moden 
Crusoe,  and  is  entitled  to  take  rank  with  that  charming  romance. — Commercial  Advertiser. 

MARSHALL-NOTES  ON  THE  EPISCOPAL  POLITY 

Of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  with  some  account  of  the  Developments  of  Mo 
dern  Religious  Systems,  by  Thomas  William  Marshall,  B.  A.,  of  the  Dio 
cese  of  Salisbury.     Edited   by  Jonathan  M.  Wainwright,  D.  D.     With  » 
new  and  complete  Index  of  tho  Subjects  and  of  the  Texts  of  Scripture 
On»  volume,  12mo.,  $1  25. 

I.  Introduction.  II.  Scripture  Evidence.  III.  Evidence  of  Antiquity.  IV.  Admission  ol 
Adversaries.     V.  DevelopmentofMwiern  Religious  Systems. 

A  more  important  work  than  this  has  not  been  isnuod  for  a  long  time.  We  earnestly  rec<Mi 
mend  it  to  the  attention  of  every  Churchman. — Banner  of  the  Cross. 

MARTINEAU.-THE  CROFTON  BOYS; 

A  Tale  for  Youth,  by  Harriet  Martineau.     One  volume,  ISmc,  Frontispieo* 
Cloth  gilt,  3d  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of  "Tales  for  the  People  and  their  Children." 

It  abounds  in  interest,  and  is  told  with  the  characteristic  ability  and  spirit  of  the  distinguiaked 
■■thor. — Evening  Post. 

THE  PEASANT  AND  THE  PRINCE; 

A  Tale  of  the  French  Revolution,  by  Harriet  Martineau.     One  volume,  .18mo 

Frontispiece.     Cloth  gilt,  38  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of"  Talcs  for  tho  People  and  their  Children.' 

This  ks  a  most  inviting  little  hi.'<tory  of  Louis  tho  Sixteenth  and  his  family.  Here,  in  a  ttyle 
even  more  familiar  than  Scott's  Tabs  of  .i  Grandfather,  wn  have  a  graphic  epitome  of  many  faati 
Monectcd  with  the  days  of  the  "  Revolution." — Cowritr  if  Enquirer. 

16 


\ 


tons. 


elegantly  bourn 
rienced  author.    8* 


ne,  75  centi. 

i  8eventy-nino    rrfe 

£; 

Atonement  and 
id  tlie  Mode  of 
»,  a*  held  by  th« 
Jee,  D.  D.,  Arch- 

'he  profound  biblical 
t  endear  hia  name  to 


Chichester.    On« 


Part  11.  The  Moral 
I  to  the  Actual  StaU 

nen,and  particularly 
itally  important  tub- 


by Capt.  Marry- 
;ilt,  $1  25. 
Children." 

3.     It  is  the  moden 
I  Advertiser. 

>OLITY 

opments  of  Mo 
A.,  of  the  Dio 
D.  D.    With* 
(ts  of  Scripture 

IV.  Admission  ol 
^e  earneatly  rec<Mi 


>.,  Frontispiec* 

dren.»' 

of  the  diitinguiakai 

INCE; 

i  volume,  18mo 

dren.' 

Horc,  in  a  ityk 
tomoofmany  faata 


AppU 


ton' J  LUitfihi^ue  of   Voiuuint  r  uuiii.ankini>. 


MAURICE— THE  KINGDOM  OF  CHRIST; 

Or,  Hints  respecting  tlie  rrinriplt-s,  Constitiition,  iitui  Or«lin!iiir»s  of  the  Cath- 
olic Cliiirrh.  By  Kev.  p'rodtfrick  Denisun  Maurice,  M,  A.  London.  On* 
volume,  8vo.,  (JOO  pngcs,  ,^2  .'H). 

On  the  th«or>  of  the  Cliurch  oft.Miri-t,  nil  shnulJ  conDiilt  tho  work  of  Mr.  Maurice,  the  nmH 
philosophical  writer  of  tho  day. — Prof.  Garhett's  bampton  Lectures,  \<iM 

MILTON.-THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS 

Ol  John  Milton,  with  Explanatory  Notes  and  a  Life  of  the  Author,  by  theRer 
Henry  iStebbing,  A.  M.     liiustrateil  with  six  steel  Eugruvings.     One  vol- 
ume, 16mo.,  $1  25. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of  '-Ciihinot  Edition  of  Stu'idard  Poots."    *«*   Tho  Latin  and  Ftaliaa 

I'otMii:)  lire  incluilod  in  \.\\\»  edition. 

Mr.  Stelihing'd  Nofs  will  bo  fiiund  very  useful  incluciilatin<;  the  learned  nlluNioiss  with  whieh 
the  text  aboundn,  nnd  they  are  aNu  vnliiablc  fur  the  correct  oppruciation  with  which  the  writer  di- 


rects attention  to  tho  boiiutioRof  the  author. 


PARADISE  LOST, 


By  John  Milton.     Wnh  Notesi,  by  Kev.  H.  Stabbing.     One  volume,  18mo., 
cloth  3ri  cents,  gilt  leaves  r>0  cents. 

PARADISE  REGAINED, 


By  John  Milton.     With  Notes,  by  Rev.  H.  St»>bbing;^.     One  volume,  18mo., 
cloth  25  cents,  gilt  leaves  38  cents. 

MAXWELL— FORTUNES  OF  HECTOR  O'HALLORAN 

And  his  man  Mark  Antony  O'Toole,  by  W.  H.  iMaxvvell.     One  volume,  8vo., 
two  plates,  paper,  J')0  cents,  twenty-four  plates,  boards,  .^1  00,  cloth,  $1  25 
It  is  one  of  the  hentof  all  the  Irish  stories,  full  of  s.iirit,  fun,  <irollory,  and  wit. — C(nir.  4'  Rnq 

MOORE.-LALLAH  ROOKH  ; 

An  Oriental  Romance,  by  Thomas  Moore.     One  volume,  32mo.,  frontispiece, 
cloth  gilt,  38  cents. 

Forniinj  a  portion  of  tho  series  of"  Miniature  Classical  Library." 
This  exquisite  Poem  has  long  been  the  admiration  of  rcadurii  uf  all  citsses. 

MORE-PRACTICAL  PIETY, 

By  Hannah  More.     One  volume,  32mo.,  frontispiece,  38  rents. 

Forming'  onu  of  tlie  Hories  of"  Miniature  Classical  Library." 

"Prncticnl  Piety  "  ha8  always  bee     deemed  the  most  attractive  and  eloquent  of  ftll  HuUMh 
More's  works. 

PRIVATE  DEVOTION: 


A  Series  of  Prayers  and  Meditations,  with  an  Introductory  Essay  on  Prayer, 
chiefly  from  the  writings  of  Hannah  More.  From  the  twenty-fifth  London 
edition.     One  volume,  32mo.,  Frontispiece,  «lolh  gilt,  31  cents. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of"  Miniature  Classical  Library." 
Upwards  of  fiAy  thousand  copies  of  this  admir.blo  manual  have  been  sold  in  theU.  StatM. 

DOMESTIC  TALES 

And  Allegories,  illustrating  Human  Life.  By  Hannah  More.  One  Tolum*, 
I8mo.,  38  cents. 

C<i«r TENTS. — I.  Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain.     II.  Mr.  Fantom  tho  Pliilosonher.     III.  T*« 
Mioe.nakers.     IV    Uilus  the  Poacher.     V.  Servant  turned  Buldier      VI.  Uenoral  Jail  Ofllivery 

RURAL  TALES, 

By  Hannah  More.     One  volume,  18mo.,  38  cents. 

CofiTCNTS.— L  Parley  the  Porter.     II.  All  for  the  Best.     III.  Two  Wealth-  Fannera.    IV 
Tom  White,     V.   Pilgrims.     VL   Valley  of  Teais 

Forming  a  portion  of  tho  series  of  "  Tales  for  the  People  and  their  Children  " 

These  two  volumes  comprise  that  portion  of  llannuh  Mure'i  Repository  Talc«  which  mi 
adapted  to  foueral  usefulness  in  this  country. 


•  r 


■t    if 


^1' 


>■■< 


I*'  ■ 


Apj.leton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 


K 


NAPOLEON.-PICTORIAL  HISTORY 

Of  Napoleon  Uonapnrt**,  traiisluted  from  the  French  of  M.  Lanrent  de  L'Ar- 

dech«*,  with  Five  Ilnndred  spirited   Illustrations,  aOer  designs  by  Horace 

Vf«-n.:t,  «;::J  twenty  Original  Portraits  engraved  in  the  best  style.     Com- 

pleto  in  two  handsome  volumes,  8vo.,  about  r>UO  pages  eacii,  $3  50  ;  cheap 

edition,  paper  cover,  four  parts,  $2  OU. 

The  work  ia  nuporior  to  the  long,  verboae  pro<lurtiuna  of  Bcott  and  nouricnne — not  in  ityle 
ftlono,  liut  in  truth — beins  written  to  ploaie  neither  ('hnrlr*  X.  nor  the  Cnglixh  ariatocracy,  but  !■ 
tfao  cauao  of  Iroedoin.     It  Ima  advuntagea  over  every  other  nicuioir  extant. — AmtricAti  TraoMmr, 

NEWMAN— PAROCHIAL  SERMONS, 

By  John  Henry  Newman,  B.  D.     Six  volumes  of  the  English  edition  in  tw« 
volumes,  8vo.,  $5  00. 

SERMONS  BEARING  ON  SJBJECT8 

Of  the  Day,  by  John  Henry  Newman,  B.  D.     One  volume,  12mo.,  $1  25. 

Aa  a  compendium  of  Chriatian  duty,  theao  Scrmona  will  l>o  rend  hy  people  of  all  donomitt*. 
tiona;  na  inodelaufatylo,  they  will  bo  valued  by  writcra  in  every  department  of  )i  erature.— C/iiiMtf 
Slates  OaieUe. 

OGILBY.-ON  LAY-BAPTISM: 

An  Outline  of  the  Argument  against  the  Validity  of  Lay-Baptism.     By  John 

D.  Ogilby,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Eccles.  History.     One  vol.,  lijmo.,  75  cents. 

From  a  cursory  inapeclion  of  it,  we  take  it  to  bo  a  thorough,  fcarlen*,  and  ablcdixcuaaion  of  the 
■ubjoct  wliich  it  propoaea — aiming  loaa  to  excite  inquiry,  than  to  aatiafy  by  learned  and  ingenioui 
argument  inquiriea  already  excited. — Churehman, 

CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  ENGLAND 

And   America.     Three   Lectures — L  The  Church  in  England  and  America 
Apostolic  and  Catholic.     H.  The  Causes  of  the  English  Reformation.     HI 
Its  Character  and  Results.     By  John  D.  Ogilby,  D.  D.     One  vol.,  16uio., 

75  cents. 

"  I  believe  in  ono  Catholic  and  Apoatolic  Church."    JWcene  Creed 

Prof.  Ogilby  baa  furnished  the  Church,  in  thia  little  volume,  with  a  most  valuable  aid.  W« 
'Jiink  it  ia  <k!aigned  to  become  a  tuxt-book  on  the  aubject  of  which  it  trcata. — Trut  Catholic 

OLD  OAK  TREE: 

Illustrated  with  numerous  wood-cuts.     One  volume,  18mo.,  38  cents. 

The  precepta  convoyed  aro  altogether  unexceptionable,  and  the  volume  ia  well  calculated  to 
yreve  attractive  with  children. — Saturday  Chronicle. 

OLMSTED— INCIDENTS  OF  A  WHALING  VOYAGE: 

To  which  is  added.  Observations  on  the  Scenery,  Manners,  and  Customs,  and 

Missionary  Stations  of  the  Sandwich  and  Society  Islands,  accompanied  by 

numerous  Plates.     By  Francis  Allyn  Olmsted.     One  vol.,  13mo.,  $1  50. 

The  work  cral>odic8  a  maas  of  intelligence  intereatinj;  to  the  ordinary  reader  as  well  aa  to  tbo 
philoaophical  inquirer. —  Courier  ^  Enquirer 

PAGET.-TALES  OF  THE  VILLAGE, 

By  the  Rev.  Francis  E.  Paget,  M.  A.     Three  elegant  volumes,  ISmo.,  $1  7» 

The  firat  aeries,  nr  volume,  prcHcnta  a  popular  view  of  the  contrast  in  opiniona  and  model  of 
thought  hctwu'jn  Cburchinen  and  Romaniata  ;  the  second  seta  forth  Church  principles,  as  opposed 
io  what,  in  England,  is  termed  Dissent ;  and  the  third  plact^s  in  contrast  the  chaiactor  of  ths 
Churchman  and  the  Infidel.  At  any  time  these  volumes  would  be  valuable,  eHpoiinlly  to  tho 
young.  At  present,  when  men's  minds  are  much  turned  *o  such  aubjecta,  they  cannot  failof  l>ein( 
eagerly  sought  tat.— JSTcie- York  American 

PALMER-A  TREATISE  ON  THE  CHURCH 

Df  Christ.     Designed  chiefly  for  the  use  of  Students  in  Theology.     By  the 

Rev.  William  Palmer,  M.  A.,  of  Worcester  College,  Oxford.     Edited,  with 

Notes,  by  the  Right  Rev.  W.  R.  Whittingham,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Prot 

Epis.  Church  in  the  Diocese  of  Maryland.     Two  volumes,  8vo.,  $5  00. 

Ths  chief  tlesign  of  thia  work  ia  to  supply  some  answer  to  the  aascrtion  ao  frequently  made. 
ttiat  individuaU  are  not  bound  to  aubmit  to  any  cccleaiaatical  authority  whatever :  or  that,  if  tbey 
Ha,  tb«y  muat,  in  conaiatoncy,  accept  Romaniam  with  all  ita  claims  and  erron. — Pre/oec 

18 


ons. 


aiirent  de  L'Ar- 
ligns  by  Horace 
8t  Btyle.  Com- 
I,  $3  50  ;  cheap 

icnne — not  in  itjl* 
I  aristocracy,  hut  te 
Unerirun  TravtUtr. 


edition  in  two 

mo.,  $1  25. 

lie  of  all  donomina- 
'li  eralure.— C^iiitW 


tisin.     By  John 
iJiino.,  75  cents. 

iRdiscuDsion  of  th« 
iriieii  UD'l  inyenioui 


d  and  America 
ormution.     Ill 
3ne  vol.,  16nio., 


eed 

valimlile  nid. 
*u«  Catttolie. 


W« 


cents. 

well  calculated  to 

fYAGE: 

Custome,  and 
companied  by 
2mo.,  $1  GO. 

as  well  as  to  tbo 


8mo.,  $1  7» 

ions  and  inodea  of 
ciplos,  aiioppo«ed 
chiiiactor  of  tha 
eHpoiSially  to  th« 
innot  failof  beinf 


offy-     By  the 
Edited,  with 
p  of  the  Prot 

».,  $5  00. 

frequently  mad«. 
:  or  that,  iftbty 
PrrfoM. 


Apphton's  Catalogue  of  Valuable  Publications. 

PARNELL.-APPLIED  CHEMISTRY, 

.n  Manufartures,  ArtH,  and  Domestic  Economy.  EdittMl  l)y  E.  A.  Pamell. 
Illustrated  with  iiiimeroiis  wood  El)•;^avitlg^),  and  ftpeciniens  of  Dy**d  and 
Printed  Cottons.     Paper  cover  75  cents,  cloth  ifjl  00. 

The  Editor's  aim  isi  tn  divost  the  work,  ui  fur  as  practicable,  of  all  technical  tonus,  •(  is  t« 
tdapt  it  tn  the  ri-qiiirement!!  of  the  geiionl  rciidor. 

'J'ho  aSove  furnm  t.in  firjt  divinioii  of  the  work.  It  is  the  author's  intention  tn  continue  •  frons 
Jne  to  time,  so  as  to  form  a  complete  I'racticul  Encyclopirdia  uf  (.'hi-niixtry  iippliod  to  the  Arts. 
The  subjects  to  imnu-diiiiL'lv  follow  will  bo,  Munufacturo  of  Gliiss,  Imiiijo,  Sulphuric  Acid  Zin^ 
Potuh,  Coffee,  Tea,  Chocolate,  &c. 

PEARSON— AN  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  CREED, 

By  John  Pearson,  D.  D.,  late  Bishop  of  Chester.  With  an  Appendix,  contain, 
ing  the  principal  Greek  and  Latin  Creeds.  Revised  and  corrected  by  the 
Rev.  W.  S.  Dobson,  31.  A.,  Peterhouse,  Cambridge.     One  vol.,dvo.,$U  00. 

The  following  way  be  stated  as  the  ailvantag.:^  o/thii  edition  over  all  nthern  . 

First — Great  caro  hag  been  luken  to  correct  Iho  numerous  errors  in  tiie  rcferonccs  to  the  teita 
of  Scripture,  which  had  crept  in  l>y  reason  of  the  repeated  editions  through  which  this  udinirable 
work  has  passed,  and  many  references,  as  will  bo  seen  on  turning  to  the  Index  of  'J'eita,  hav« 
Men  added. 

Secondly — The  Quotations  in  the  Notes  have  been  almost  universally  identified  anu  the  refer- 
ence to  them  adjoined. 

Lastly — The  principal  Symhola  or  Craeds,  of  which  the  particular  Articles  havobetn  citsd  by 
the  Author,  have  been  annexed;  and  wherevei  the  original  writer:)  have  given  the  Symbola  in  a 
scattered  and  disjointed  manner,  the  detached  parts  have  been  brought  into  a  successive  and  con- 
necied  point  of  view.  These  have  been  added  in  Chronological  urdtT,  in  the  form  of  ait  Appen- 
dix.—Firf«  £iii/or 

PHILIP— THE  LIFE  AND  OPINIONS 

Of  Dr.   Milne,  Missionary  to  China.     Illustrated  by  Biographical   Annals  of 

Asiatic  Missions,  from  Primitive  Protestant  Times  :  intended  as  a  Guide 

to  Missionary  Spirit.     By  Rev.  Robert  Philip.     One  vol.,  12mo.,  50  cents. 

The  work  is  executed  with  great  skill,  and  rmhodics  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  missionary 
inteJigpnce,l>ugid('ga  rich  variety  of  personal  incidents,  adapted  to  gratify  notonly  the  missionary 
or  the  Christian,  but  the  more  general  reader. —  Observer 

YOUNG  MAN'S  CLOSET  LIBRARY, 


By  Robert  Philip.     With  an  Introductory  i'ssay,  by  Rev.  Albert  Barnes.    One 
volume,  12mo.,  ^1  00. 

LOVE  OF  THE  SPIRIT, 

Traced  in  His  Work  :  a  Conipanion  to  the  Experimental  Guides.     By  Roberl 
Philio.     One  volume.  18mo..  50  cents. 


DEVOTIONAL  AND  EX^^  !IRIMENTAL 


jiuldes.  By  Robert  Philip.  With  an  Ii.  Touuctory  Essay  by  Rev.  Albert 
Barnes.  Two  volumes,  12mo.,  $1  75  Containing  Guide  to  the  Per- 
plexed, Guide  to  the  Devotional,  Guide  tc  the  Th(>\i{>htful,  Guide  to  the 
Doubting,  Guide  to  the  Conscientious,  O  uide  to  Redon  ption. 


LADY'S  CLOSET  LIBRARY: 


The  Marvs,  i  r  Beauty  of  Female  Holiness  :  The  Marthfi^.  or  Varieties  of  Fe- 
male Piety  ,  The  Lydias,  or  Development  of  Female  Character.  By  Rob> 
ert  Philip.     Each  volume,  I8mo.,  50  cents 

The  MATERNAL  series  of  the  above  popular  Library  is  now  ready,  entitled 

The   Hannahs ;  or.  Maternal  Influence  of  Sons.     By  Robert  Philip.     One 

volume,  18mo.,  50  cents. 

The  author  of  this  excellent  work  is  known  to  the  public  as  one  of  the  most  prolific  writers  » 
Mie  day,  and  scarcely  any  writer  in  the  dep&rimeut  which  he  occupies  has  acquired  so  ezteuiT* 
Mid  well-merited  a  popularity.— jL'can^e/i«t. 

POLLOK— THE  COURSE  OF  TIME, 

Ry  Robert  Pollok.     With  a  Life  of  the  Author,  and  complete  Analytical  In 
dex,  prepared  expressly  fur  this  edition.     32mo.,  frontispiece,  38  cent*. 

Forming  one  of  the  series  of  "  Miniature  Classical  Library." 
Fow  modem  Poems  exist  which  at  onco  attained  such  acceptance  and  celebrity  u  this. 


'^  : 


Appli  ton's  Cntnlo/Tue  of  Valuuhh'  Publication^. 


^li 


H^m 


I'.  *, 


M  i  ' 


J 


PRATT.-DAWNINGS  OF  GENIUS; 

Or,  (lie  Early  Iwmh  ol'Moiih-  liiitiiKiit  i'trsiwis  of  tliu  lust  Century.  By  Ann* 
Prutt.     Oil**  vitliiiiio,  |."<rni).,  lr<>iitis|ii<Te,  ili  (•••rilH. 

Furtiiinu  OIK'  oftlic  HcricH  iif"  A  l.iliniry  lor  my  Voiiiij;  ('nuntrymnn," 
ro«iTicM<. — Sir  lluiii|*liri  y  l».ivy— Hi'v.  JJcorL'i' ''nililii!— Huron  Cuviiir — Sir  JothiM  RtjrMda 
— liiiidloy  Murriiy — Sir  Jaiivii  Miirkintuitli— Dr.  Ailiiiii  l.'Inrkc. 

PRIZE  STORY-BOOK: 

ConHiMliii^  cliit-ny  of  'I'lilt's,  translated  from  tliu  Germsn,  French,  and  Itoiiui 
•i)<;ftli-r  witli  iSek'ct  'J'iiles  from  the  Ktigli.sii.  IlluHtrated  with  nunieroui 
ijijrruviiigH  from  nfvv  deHignti.     (Jne  thick  vuluine,  IGino.,  cloth  gilt. 

PURE  GOLD  FROM  THE  RIVERS  OF  WISDOM: 

A  ColloctiiiM  ot't^hort  Kxtruclfl  frniii  t>ie  most  Eminent  Writers — Bishop  Hall, 
Jeremy  Tuylor,  Barrow,  IFo«)ker,  Bacon,  Leighton,  Addison,  Wilherforce, 
Johnson,  Voiing,  Houtliey,  Lady  Montague,  Ilunnuh  More,  etc.  One 
volume,  32ino.,  irontispiuce,  i-lotli  gilt,  'M  cents. 

Furtiiiia;  oiia  ul'tliu  iiiriuouf  "  Miiii:ituro  Claimical  T^itirary." 

PUSS  IN  BOOTS: 

A  pure  Translation  in   I'rose,  from  the  original  (ierman.     Illustrated  with  1 
original  Designs,  suitable  for  the  Tastes  of  the  Voung  or  Old,  l>y  the  cele- 
brated artist,  Otto  Speckter.     One  vol.,  square  li2mo.,  cloth  gilt. 

SAINT  PIERRE-PAUL  AND  VIRGINIA: 

A  Tale,  by  J.  B.  H.  De  Saint  Pierre.  One  volume,  32mo.,  frontispiece,  clotK 
gilt,  31  cents. 

Forming  one  oftho  aerici  or"  Miniature  Classical  Library." 

SANDHAM.— THE  TWIN  SISTERS: 

A  Tale  for  Youth,  by  Afrs.  Sandhuni.     From  the  twentieth  London  edition 
One  volume,  Idmo.,  frontispiece,  cloth  gilt,  38  cents. 

Forming  a  portion  oftho  series  of"  Tales  for  the  People  and  their  Children." 
The  moral  ii«  excellent  throughout.      Its  merit  renders  it  a  plousi.nt  book  for  even  grown-up 
children. — Boston  Punt. 

8C0TT-THE  POETICAL  WORKS 

Of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Bart.  Containing  Lay  of  the  Last  Minstrel,  Marmion, 
Lady  of  the  Luke,  Don  Roderick,  llokcb^.  Ballads,  Lyrics,  and  Songs, 
with  a  Life  of  the  Author.  Illustrated  with  six  steel  Engravings.  One 
volume,  IGino.,  $1  i2.>. 

LADY  OF  THE  LAKE  : 

A  Poem,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.  One  volume,  18mo.,  frontispiece,  cloth  -23 
cents,  gilt  edges  3d  cents. 

marmion: 

A  Tale  of  Flodden  Field,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.     One  volume,  18mo.,  frontis 
piece,  cloth  Sa  cents,  gilt  edges  38  cents. 

LAY  OF  THE  LAST  MINSTREL: 

A   Poem,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.     One  volume,   18mo.,  frontispiece,  cloth  25 

cents,  gilt  edges  3d  cents. 

Woltcr  Scott  Is  the  mo«t  popular  of  nil  iho  poets  of  the  present  day,  and  dc4ervedly  ao.  Ila 
dpscribes  tliitt  which  \»  \nuf\  uuNJIy  and  ^linorally  understood  with  more  vivacity  and  eifect  th.in 
aay  other  writer.  Ilis  Ktyl<-  \*  cluiir.  tlowiri^.  iinil  trnnsparont ;  his  sentiments,  of  which  hia  atyle 
ia  an  ciisy  and  natural  medium,  are  common  to  him  with  his  readers. — Jlaztitt. 

8PINCKES.— MANUAL  OF  PRIVATE  DEVOTIONS: 

'Complete,)  collected  from  the  writings  of  Archbishop  Laud,  Bishop  Andrews, 
'Bishop  Ken,  Dr.  Hickes,  Mr.  Kettlewell,  Mr.  Spinckes,  and  other  eminent 
old  English  divines.     With  a  Preface  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Spinckes.     Edited 
by  Francis  E.  Paget,  M.  A.     One  elegant  volume,  IGmo.,  $1  00. 
Aa  a  manual  of  private  devotion  t,  it  will  b«  found  most  valuable  — JVno-  York  Amtriemi. 

30 


tion^. 


itiiry.     By  Ann* 

ynion." 

-Sir  JothiM  H«7R<tMa 


nch,  and  Itnlifta 
1  with  niiineroui 
,  citttli  gilt. 

»M: 

rs — Bishop  Hall, 
«on,  Wilberforce, 
luru,  etc.      One 


ludtrated  with  1 
Did,  by  the  coie- 
;h  gilt. 

-onlispiece,  clotK 


London  edition 

Pliildren." 

k  fur  cvon  grown-up 


istrel,  Marmlon, 
ricB,  and  Songs, 
igravings.     One 


ipiece,  cloth  -35 


,  ISmo.,  frontis 


piece,  cloth  25 

dc«ervedly  10.  II« 
'Aty  and  etfect  th.in 
,  of  which  hii  ityle 

ONS: 

ishop  Andrews, 
1  other  eminent 
nckes.     Edited 
llOO. 
rkAmtriam. 


App^rton's  CntulniTiif  of  VafiinbU  Publirathns. 


SPENCER— THE  CHRISTIAN  INSTRUCTED 

In  the  Ways  of  the  Ciospel  and  the  Church,  in  a  Beries  of  I)i»(;«)ur8e9  delivered 

at  St.  JaineH'.4  Church,  (josImmi,  New- York.     By  ihu  llev.  J.  A.  Sponcer 

M.  A.,  late  Rector.     One  volume,  lGmo.,||;l  ii."). 

riii«  li  a  very  iiioful  vulwtno  of  Horinoii*  :  rofpcctulilo  in  "tylo,  Hound  in  doctrine,  and  aflTe* 
tionntd  iiMoni!,  tlicy  nr<t  wi'll  lidiiptt-d  for  rfiidini,'  in  tlm  fiinily  <'lri-|('.  or  plncinx  on  the  famili 
biMik-*holl'.  •  •  «  \Vf  tliiiili  it  n  worli  of  vvlijch  (lu!  fiiciijiitiun  in  liki^ly  to  promote  true  reli 
itioii  nnd  fjr'nuino  pi«-ty.  It  ii<  I'nrirhcd  with  ii  liodv  of  t'xri'lJRrit  notm  unli-ctcd  from  the  writingi 
w'tliedeud  and  livin;;  orniiiiiiMitit  of  thuCliur<  li  in  fCn^'i.ind  nnd  thin  luiuntry. —  TVue  Catholte. 

8PRAQUE— TRUE  AND  FALSE  RELIGION. 

LectureH  illii.stratiii<{  the  Contrast  between  true  Christianity  and  various  othei 
SysteniH.     By  William  B.  Spnigue,  D,  I).     One  volume,  I'^mo.,  $1  00. 


LECTURES  TO  YOUNG  PEOPLE, 


By  W.  B.  Si)ra<jue,  I).  D.     With  an  Introductory  .Address,  by  Samuel  Miller, 
D.  I).     I'ourth  edition.     One  volume,  liinio.,  US  cents. 

SUTTON.-MEDITATIONS  ON  THE  SACRAMENT. 

Godly  Meditations  upon  the  most  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.     By 

Christopher  Sutton,  D.  D.,  late  I'rebend  of  Westminster.     One  volume, 

royal  IGuio.,  elegantly  ornamented,  ifil  00. 

We  announced  in  our  last  nutiihi-r  the  repuldicntiun  in  this  rotintry  of  Sulton'n  '•  Medltntioni 
on  the  Lord'i  Hupr*  ,"  and.  Imving  nince  read  tlio  work,  are  prepared  to'recuininond  it  warmly  and 
without  qualiticiit..on  to  the  perusal  of  our  ruudcri. — Banner  of  the  Cross. 


DISCE  MORI— LEARN  TO  DIE: 


A  Religious  Discourse,  moving  every  Christian  man  to  enter  into  a  Serious 
Remembrance  of  his  End.  By  Christopher  Sutton,  O.  D.  One  volume, 
16mo.,  $1  UO. 

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DISCE  VIVERE—LEARN  TO  LIVE: 

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In  the  "  DiAce  Vivnro,"  thr>  author  moulded  his  mntorinh,  after  the  manner  of  a  Kempii,  into 
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